THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^=^=Bits-— 
of  Old  Mexico 


4^^ 


By  JAMES   A.   WILSON 
San  Francisco  -  -  California 


No. 


To. 


..isTdi^^.'h.. ,:^***^ 


/7fg  jjwi  /'^// 


Compliments  of 


Copyrighted  1910,  by  James  A.  Wilson 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 
\ 


Reading  from   left  to   right— "Dick."   "811116  "   '-Jimr   -'George' 


F 


BITS  OF  OLD  MEXICO 


BY  JAMES  A.  WILSON 


In  a  moment  of  absent-mindedness,  I  said.  "Yes, 
I'll  go,"  and  the  result  of  that  "yes"  was  a  trip  to 
Mexico. 

We  had  been  discussing  the  rubber  question  and 
its  possibilities.  I  had  agreed  to  take  an  interest  in  a 
plantation  but  said  Missourian-like,  "Show  me,"  and 
the  agreement  to  visit  Mexico  and  this  particular 
plantation  was  an  assured  fact  before  we  left  the 
lunch  table. 

It  took  us  about  a  week  to  get  ready  and  on  the 
24th  of  February  started  for  the  land  of  manana  and 
the  home  of  quein  sabe. 

The  run  to  El  Paso  had  its  moments  of  interest, 
but  as  this  is  a  trip  to  Mexico,  I  will  forget  every- 
thing else  for  the  present. 

Eleven  a.  m.  Sunday,  February  28th,  found  us  on 
the  bridge  connecting  El  Paso  and  Juarez,  or  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  and  incidentally  in  the 
hands  of  the  custom  officers. 

I  have  mentioned  "us"  and  "we"  a  number  of 
times  and  as  we  are  about  to  enter  a  foreign  country 


i  nnnf^i^  « 


2  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

the  party  had  better  be  identified,  so,  for  con- 
venience sake,  I  will  name  them  Dick,  Billie,  George 
and  Jim,  the  latter  being  represented  by  myself  at 
meal  time  and  other  important  functions. 

The  day  was  hot  and  we  were  comfortably  warm ; 
a  drawing  room  protected  us  some  from  the  heat  and 
didn't  hurt  with  the  inspectors. 

After  leaving  the  bridge,  the  train  stopped  at 
Juarez  where  trunks  were  inspected  and  an  opportun- 
ity offered  to  change  your  money  from  American  to 
Mexican  at  the  rate  of  two  Mexican  for  one  American. 
This  gives  a  person  a  sense  of  wealth  and  you  wonder 
why  people  don't  go  to  that  country  where  they  will 
have  just  twice  as  much  as  at  home. 

The  whistle  blew  about  noon  time  and  we  were  off 
for  the  City  of  Mexico. 

The  journey  was  made  without  event.  Our  stops 
were  short,  the  country  uninviting,  and  the  natives 
more  so,  but  of  this  later.  The  engineer  and  our  de- 
sires seemed  to  be  as  one  in  getting  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  and  when  the  colored 
gentleman  ordered  us  to  stand  up  and  get  "brushed 
down"  we  knew  we  were  getting  close  to  the  begin- 
ning of  our  trip. 

We  pulled  into  the  station  promptly  on  time  at  8 
p.  m.  and  after  the  usual  fussing  about  getting  bag- 
gage started  right,  took  carriages  and  drove  out 
through  the  gates,  getting  tabbed  by  some  soldiers  as 
we  did  so.     They  got  the  hotel  we  were  going  to  and 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  3 

the  number  of  pieces  of  bacrgaafe.  and,  I  suppose,  at  the 
end  wrote  down  Gringos,  four. 

We  had  arraneed  to  stop  at  the  St.  Francis,  and 
accordingly,  proceeded  to  get  tliere  as  soon  as  free.  A 
hurried  wash,  a  bite  to  eat.  and  we  were  out  and  tak- 
ing our  first  walk  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 

Leaving  the  hotel  and  turning  to  the  left  from 
the  bronz;e  statue  of  Charles  IV  of  Spain,  walking 
about  two  blocks  on  a  wide  street  of  residences  and 
stores,  you  arrive  at  the  Alameda  or  plaza.  The  street 
here  is  Avide  for  about  two  blocks,  with  stores  on  the 
right.  At  the  end  of  the  Alameda  the  street  narrows 
and  becomes  the  Calle  do  San  Francisco  which  extends 
to  the  Plaza  Mayor,  or  main  square  in  the  center  of 
the  city  from  which  point  all  cars  start  and  all  trips 
finish. 

Standing  in  the  square,  one.  in  imagination,  can 
see  startling  events  in  the  history  of  Mexico — the 
coming  of  the  Toltics  in  the  seventh  century,  replacing 
a  former  race  and  establishing  a  system  of  government, 
devoting  themselves  to  war  largely,  but  finding  suffi- 
cient time  to  cultivate  the  soil,  erect  great  temples  and 
cities,  study  science  and  art  and  gradually  disappear, 
it  is  thought,  through  famine,  pestilence  and  war;  but 
their  four  centuries  of  occupation,  it  is  suggested,  left 
the  ruins  of  Palenqu^*  Mitla  and  other  wonders  of 
building  genius. 

The  coming  and  going  of  different  tribes  followed, 
with  more  or  less  advance  in  civilization,  till  we  see 
the  Ajztecs,  or  Mexicans,  arrive,  wandering  around, 
bossing  some  other  tribe  one  day  and  becoming  slaves 


4  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

the  next,  so  to  speak,  till  we  find  a  band  of  them  * 
wandering  on  the  borders  of  a  lake  looking  for  a  new 
camping  place.  One  of  the  old  leaders  spied  a  golden 
eagle  perched  on  the  stem  of  a  prickly  pear  with  a 
snake,  or  serpent  in  its  talons,  and  being  tired,  pro- 
nounced this  a  good  omen,  and  informed  his  friends 
that  this  was  the  promised  land.  This  happened  in 
1325,  and  they  called  the  place  Tenochtitlan.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 

Wars  with  other  tribes,  conquests,  peace  and  pros- 
perity brought  civilization,  and  they  established  king- 
doms and  royalty,  pomp  and  ceremony  of  a  truly  pa- 
gan character.  All  this  we  see  passing  before  the 
minds  eye  in  the  preparation  for  the  coming  of  Cortez. 
We  see  him  land  and  fight  his  way,  conquering  'or 
gaining  allies  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  City  of  Mexico, 
which  he  entered  on  the  8th  of  November,  1519.  We 
see  his  meeting  with  Montezuma,  his  stay  and  expul- 
sion on  July  1st,  1520,  "la  noche  triste,"  or  dismal 
night,  his  flight  and  reinforcement  from  Cuba,  and 
his  final  triumphal  entry  into  the  City  of  Mexico, 
August  13th,  1521,  the  falling  of  the  temples  and  the 
erection  of  Christian  churches,  the  rule  of  the  vice- 
roys, the  revolution,  the  empire,  the  republic,  the 
Mexican  war,  the  capture  of  the  city  by  the  United 
States'  forces  on  the  15th  of  September.  1847,  the 
treaty  of  peace,  the  entry  of  the  French  soldiers  on 
June  9th,  1863,  and  the  crowning  of  Maximilian  em- 
peror, June  12th,  1864;  the  United  States  telling  Na- 
poleon that  they  wouldn't  stand  for  the  king  busi- 
ness;   the    Mexicans    getting    up    another    revolution, 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  5 

and  taking  Max  and  a  couple  of  his  generals  out  and 
shooting  them;  General  Diaz  capturing  the  city  June 
21st,  and  Juacez  made  president  of  Mexico,  entering 
the  city  July  25th,  1867. 

We  see  many,  other  scraps  in  different  parts  of 
Mexico — that  of  Oaxaca  in  January,  1876,  Avhen  Gen- 
eral Diaz  took  the  field  and  everything  else  he  could 
lay  his  hands  on,  and  finally,  take  the  city  November 
24th,  1876,  and  hold  it  and  the  office  of  president  ever 
since  with  the  exception  of  one  term  of  four  years. 

I  stood  reyiewing  all  these  things  mentally  and 
was  finally  brought  back  to  the  present  by  Billie  an- 
nouncing that  he  intended  going  to  the  museum  in 
the  morning  to  examine  the  Aztec  calendar.  Billie  is 
a  scientist  among  other  things.  George  wanted  to 
take  in  the  churches  and  cemeteries.  He  is  serious- 
minded.  Dick  was  agreeable  for  anything  but  sug- 
gested that  wood-work  was  his  long  suit,  and  as  the 
best  samples  of  cabinet-work  could  be  found  in  the 
Cantina  we  should  look  over  this  branch  of  the  Mexi- 
can exhibit  first.  We  adjourned  immediately  to  the 
first  we  found  to  compare  the  cabinet-work  in  the 
Mexican  Cantina  with  the  bar  fixtures  of  a  California 
saloon. 

The  following  morning  saw  us  up  and  ready  for 
sight-seeing.  Our  first  visit  was  to  the  museum  to 
satisfy  Billie.  We  hired  a  guide  who  spoke  English 
fluently  and  charged  us  in  both  languages  plentifully. 
He  took  us  direct  to  the  Aztec  Calendar,  as  per  Billie 's 
desire,  and  informed  us  that  it  was  originally  in  the 
great  temple  Tenochtitlan.  and  after  it  was  destroyed, 


b  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

the  stone  was  left  on  the  ground  in  the  square,  and 
when  the  Christians  built  the  Cathedral,  it  was  placed 
in  the  West  tower  from  which  place  it  was  removed  to 
the  museum  in  1886.  It  weighed  originally  nearly 
sixty  tons;  that  it  took  five  thousand  men  to  bring  it 
from  the  quarry  in  1478  to  the  city:  that  it  showed 
the  seasons,  the  months  and  the  days.  It  certainly 
looked  the  age  and  its  weight  could  hardly  be  doubted. 
Its  carvings,  strange  in  character,  were  on  a  round 
dial. 

Billie  examined  it  very  critically,  but  seemed  to 
think  it  would  do.  George  said  he  thought  there  must 
be  some  religious  significance  attached  to  the  charac- 
ters on  the  stone  that  was  not  understood,  and  Dick 
and  I  took  the  guide's  word  for  it.  The  sacrificial 
stone  next  attracted  our  attention.  The  guide  in- 
formed us  that  it  came  out  of  the  great  temple  that 
stood  on  this  square  and  was  companion  to  the  calen- 
dar stone.  It  was  about  the  same  size,  and  circular, 
was  carved  all  around  the  sides  and  on  the  flat  sur- 
face of  the  top,  had  a  hole  cut  in  the  center  from 
which  ran  a  chase  which  the  guide  told  us  was  for  the 
burning  of  the  hearts  and  carrying  off  the  blood  of 
the  victims.  This  stone  was  found  near  the  Cathedral 
in  1791,  and  was  about  to  be  broken  up  because  it 
could  not  be  moved  conveniently,  when  some  one 
thought  to  save  it  as  a  curio. 

A  colossal  head  of  stone  was  next  pointed  out.  It 
was  dug  up  from  one  of  the  streets  in  1830.  It  is 
three  feet  high  and  two  feet  throush  the  neck,  and  is 
supposed  to  be  as  old  as  the  Calend.nr  stone.     It  looks 


B1T8    OF    OLD    MEXICO  7 

all  right  for  a  sphinx,  aud  Billie  is  going  to  look  the 
matter  up.  The  God  of  War,  Huitzilopochtli,  is  a  cor- 
ker, as  his  name  would  imply.  He  stands  about  ten 
feet  high  and  three  feet  thick.  He  has  two  faces  and 
a  lot  of  carving ;  two  hands  stand  out  from  the  sides  of 
the  face  like  the  pose  that  the  typical  Jew  assumes, 
when  he  says.  "So  help  me."  The  guide  was  silent 
about  this. 

The  goddess  of  water,  a  monolith  eleven  feet  high 
and  five  feet  across  and  weighing  about  40,000  pounds, 
has  been  pretty  badly  knocked  about,  and  looked  as 
if  she  was  on  the  bargain  counter. 

Dick  couldn't  stand  for  the  goddess.  He  sug- 
gested that  we  leave  the  water  question  in  abeyance 
and  find  out  what  the  Aztec  took  before  it.  So  after 
looking  over  a  few  more  of  the  unsolved  problems  we 
took  Billie  away  from  the  calendar  stone,  where  we 
found  him  taking  measurements,  and  picking  up 
George  who  was  absorbed  in  a  part  of  the  Palenque 
Cross  that  had  just  been  brought  from  the  ruins,  we 
had  the  guide  take  us  to  a  place  where  the  goddess  of 
water  was  only  in  evidence  as  a  chaser. 

The  Monte  de  Piedad,  or  National  pawn  shop,  was 
the  next  place  to  visit.  This  is  an  institution  that 
could  be  imitated  in  other  countries  and  not  hurt.  It 
was  started  in  1776  to  protect  people  from  the  pawn- 
brokers that  then  existed.  It  was  approved  by  the 
crown,  though  run  by  an  individual.  No  interest  was 
charged,  but  the  party  redeeming  a  pledge  was  sup- 
posed to  give  something  to  charity,  but  as  people 
pledging  their  jewelry   or   clothes  were   hardly   in    a 


8  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

giving  mood  when  they  redeemed  their  pledge,  in- 
terest was  charged  and  the  Government  took  hold  of 
it.  You  pawn  your  diamonds  today,  and  interest 
is  charged  monthly.  While  you  pay  your  goods  are 
safe  and  unexposed,  but  when  you  fail,  your  pledge 
is  placed  on  sale  at  a  value  fixed  by  the  authorities, 
and  should  the  article  be  purchased  by  some  one  and 
the  price  paid  be  more  than  the  money  advanced  and 
interest,  the  person  pledging  the  article  will  be  paid 
the  difference.  Should  it  not  be  sold  at  an  appraised 
value  in  one  month  after  exposure,  the  price  is  re- 
duced, and  so  on  month  after  month,  until  it  is  brought 
down  to  the  amount  advanced  and  interest.  Then  it  is 
allowed  to  stand  until  sold.  This  place  is  also  on  the 
main  plaza,  nearly  opposite  the  Cathedral  and  is  visit- 
ed by  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  people  about  as 
interesting  as  are  the  pledges.  We  all  bought  some- 
thing to  make  believe  we  were  shopping.  I  rescued 
an  English  sovereign  of  George  III;  some  patriot  had 
worn  it  as  a  scarf  pin,  and  it  was  as  good  as  when 
it  came  out  of  the  mint.  I  bought  it  and  brought  it 
back  to  the  United  States,  for  though  George  III  was 
not  on  friendly  terms  with  us  during  his  lifetime,  yet  I 
thought  he  would  feel  more  at  home  in  San  Francisco 
than  in  a  pawn-shop  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 

George  bought  a  small  crucifix,  Billie  an  old  sand- 
glass to  learn  if  time  was  measured  in  Mexico  as  it  is 
at  home.  Dick  did  not  buy  but  he  went  through 
the  back  rooms  and  examined  the  furniture  that  had 
been  pledged  or  manufactured  for  sale  and  gave  us  a 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  9 

correspondence  course  in  cabinet  work,  dove-tailing, 
veneering  and  grafting. 

This  National  pawn  shop  was  very  interesting, 
but  the  most  pathetic  thing  in  the  whole  business  was 
the  life-sized  model  of  Jesus  for  sale;  and  while  I  am 
not  a  special  advocate  of  any  partcular  line  of  how  to 
get  there,  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  pay  the  price  and  get 
the  image  of  the  lowly  Nazarene  out  of  such  bad  com- 
pany. The  only  reason.  I  suppose,  that  restrained  me 
was  the  thought  that  he  was  sold  into  bad  company 
once  before  for  a  few  pieces  of  silver  (this  model  was 
actually  placed  for  sale  with  a  lot  of  furniture  and 
in  full  view  of  every  visitor). 

From  the  pawn  shop  to  the  thieves'  market  was 
but  a  short  walk  across  the  great  plaza.  I  understood 
you  could  buy  an  article  at  one  gate  and  on  going 
out  at  another,  the  same  article  would  be  presented  to 
you  for  sale,  some  kind  pickpocket  in  the  meantime 
having  helped  himself  to  your  purchase.  It  may  all 
be  true,  but  as  I  did  not  buy,  I  cannot  verify  the  state- 
ment. The  place  impressed  me  as  a  second-hand  junk 
shop.  Everything  was  old  and  rusty  and  consisted  of 
a  miscellaneous  collection  of  machettes,  stilettos,  and 
other  murderous  looking  weapons.  Billie  made  a 
trade  with  a  dealer  in  copper  coins  and  bought  a  sack 
full  because  he  noticed  a  few  that  he  thought  were 
ancient,  and  when  he  came  to  look  them  over  the 
particularly  interesting  ones  were  not  visible,  so  per- 
haps the  market  is  well  named.  However,  he  bought 
a  shell,  something  like  abalone,  with  a  painting  of  a 
boat  landing,  done  in  a  very  crude  manner.     I  could 


10  BJTS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

not  understand  what  the  dealer  was  trying  to  make 
Billie  believe,  but  I  think  he  was  selling  it  for  the 
landing  of  Cortez.  Anyhow,  it  was  rolled  up  in  an 
old  newspaper,  and  Billie  was  exceedingly  proud  when 
on  opening  the  paper  at  the  hotel  he  found  the  shell 
was  actually  with  him,  and  got  off  a  nearly  joke  by 
saying  that  it  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  beaten 
the  shell  game.  The  Thieves  Market  at  one  time  oc- 
cupied the  main  plaza,  but  was  banished  when  the 
square  was  cleared  of  all  markets,  and  while  I  have 
mentioned  this  square,  I  will  note  a  few  of  the  things 
about  it  that  are  interesting.  It  is  known  as  the  Plaza 
Mayor  de  la  Consitiucion.  It  is  the  center  of  the  city 
and  the  place  where  the  great  temple  of  the  Aztecs 
once  stood,  and  where  now  stands  the  Cathedral. 

The  square  was  used  for  three  years  after  the 
Christian  occupancy  as  a  market  place  and  was  filled 
with  booths  of  all  characters,  but  it  seems  to  have 
been  burned  down  about  1611.  The  Cathedral  is  at 
one  end  of  the  Plaza,  and  at  other  points  are  located 
the  National  Palace,  the  Portales,  stores  with  portals 
extending  to  the  street  line  over  the  sidewalk.  A 
small  park  and  a  band-stand  opposite  the  Cathedral, 
a  pretty  flower  market  at  another  point  where  the 
most  artistic  flower  pieces  for  funerals  are  made  and 
sold,  and  not  only  for  funerals  but  for  occasions  of  a 
much  livelier  character. 

I  could  see  that  George  was  becoming  worried 
about  something  and  soon  found  out  that  he  thought 
we  were  neglecting  the  churches  which  he  had  special 
instructions  from  home  to  visit,  whether  for  worship 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  11 

or  inspection  he  did  not  say,  but  we  complied  with  his 
request  and  visited  the  Cathedral  on  the  main  square. 

The  Cathedral  is  old  and  good-looking  and  occu- 
pies the  site  of  an  Aztec  temple  said  to  have  been  the 
greatest  pagan  place  of  Avorship  on  the  continent. 

THE  CATHEDRAL. 

The  first  Christian  church  on  the  present  site  was 
built  about  three  years  after  the  conquest.  The  cor- 
ner stone  of  the  present  Cathedral  was  laid  in  1573, 
the  first  service  was  held  in  1626  and  finally  dedicated 
on  the  2nd  of  February,  1667.  The  total  cost  was  over 
$2,000,000  at  the  then  time  price  of  things.  It  was 
over  400  feet  long.  The  inside  measures  387x177  feet, 
from  roof  to  floor,  179  feet.  The  towers  are  203  feet 
high.  The  walls  and  towers  are  of  stone  and  the  roof 
brick  arches  and  cement.  The  south  front  is  riehl\ 
ornamented  with  carvings  and  statues  of  saints  and 
great  men  in  church  history.  Here  are  some  of  the 
things  the  guide  told  us  about  and  to  Avhieh  I  listened 
with  great  interest,  second  only  to  that  Ol  George, 
who  was  so  intent  on  acquiring  church  history  that  he 
found  out  the  names  of  the  saints  to  whom  the  four- 
teen chapels  are  dedicated.  The  most  noted  one  is 
that  of  San  Felipe  de  Jusus.  Some  of  the  relies  of  this 
saint  are  preserved  here ;  among  them  is  the  font  in 
which  he  was  baptized.  In  this  chapel  are  the  remains 
of  Mexico's  first  emperor.  Augustin  Yturbide. 

In  the  chapel  of  San  Pedro  lies  the  remains  of  the 
first  Archbishop  of  Mexico   and  Gregorio  Lopez,  the 


12  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

Mexican  man  with  the  iron  mask,  said  to  be  a  son  of 
Philip  the  second  of  Spain. 

The  choir  and  the  great  organs  are  raised  up 
from  the  main  floor,  and  in  the  rear  of  the  choir,  is  the 
altar  of  pardon,  in  front  of  which  numbers  of  people 
of  all  conditions  were  kneeling.  The  main  altar  was 
built  in  1850.  The  altar  of  the  kings  is  said  to  be  the 
best  in  the  building,  and  beneath  it  are  buried  the 
heads  of  the  patriots  Hidalgo,  Allende,  Aldama  and 
Jimenez,  brought  from  Guanajuato  in  state  after  the 
independence.  The  statues  and  paintings  in  many 
parts  of  the  Cathedral  are  by  celebrated  artists,  and 
altogether  it  is  a  wonder  in  its  size  and  grandeur. 
Billie  wanted  to  argue  with  George  about  the  accuracy 
of  measurements  and  history,  but  George  would  not 
argue,  so  we  agreed  that  all  we  heard  was  correct. 
Dick  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  Cantina  had  many 
relics  in  the  shape  of  polque  cerveza  and  aquadente, 
and  we  immediately  proceeded  to  investigate  the  liquid 
spirits  of  old  Mexico. 

NATIONAL  PALACE. 

The  National  Palace  on  the  east  side  of  the  Plaza 
Mayor  is  the  capital  proper,  where  the  senate  meets 
and  the  executive  offices  are  located.  It  is  on  the  site 
once  occupied  b}"  Cortez,  and  before  him  by  Montezu- 
ma. The  present  building  was  begun  in  1692  and  has 
been  added  to  since,  and  at  the  present  time  occupies 
the  full  length  of  the  east  side  of  the  square,  675  feet, 
and  about  the  same  distance  down  the  side  streets. 
It  has  an  immense  court-yard  or  patio  inside,  and  th(; 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  13 

best  soldiers  are  stationed  at  this  point;  at  least,  they 
struck  me  as  being  the  best.  I  don't  know  how  good 
they  are  in  the  fighting  line,  but  one  thing  I  must  say: 
their  band  Avas  good,  as  are  all  military  bands  in 
Mexico. 

This  palace  has  what  is  known  as  the  Hall  of  Am- 
bassadors. It  might  be  called  the  National  Picture 
Gallery,  for  paintings  of  the  celebrities  in  Mexican 
history  here  are  hung.  It  is  really  well  worth  visiting, 
and  one  of  the  things  of  special  interest  in  the  palace, 
or,  rather  on  it,  is  the  old  bell  from  the  Church  of 
Dolores  near  San  Miguel  de  AUende.  This  is  the  bell 
that  Hidalgo  rung  on  the  16th  of  September,  1810, 
calling  the  Mexicans  to  arms  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 
The  people  hearing  the  bell  did  not  know  all  that  it 
meant,  but  some  were  on.  as  we  say.  The  hour  was 
late  (11:40  p.  m.),  but  Father  Hidalgo  had  all  arrang- 
ed and  with  the  celebrated  miracle  picture  of  Guadal- 
upe as  a  banner,  started  out  for  the  liberty  and  inde- 
pendence of  Mexico.  This  liberty  bell  was  installed 
in  its  present  place  on  the  16th  of  September,  1896, 
and  was  rung  at  the  hour  that  Father  Hidalgo  rung  it 
in  1810,  and  I  understand  it  has  become  a  custom  of  the 
president  to  ring  it  annually  at  11:40  on  the  night  of 
the  call  to  arms.  This  bell  hangs  in  front  and  over  the 
main  entrance  to  the  palace. 

The  Palace  of  Yturbide,  which  is  now  a  hotel,  was 
visited  next,  principally,  I  think,  on  the  suggestion  of 
Dick,  who  must  have  had  inside  information  on  liquid- 
ation, for  before  Ave  could  get  a  chance  to  form  an 
opinion  on  the  residence  of  a  once  king,  he  had  us  in  a 


14  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

modern-looking,  thirst-destroying  station,  asking  us 
what  we  would  have.  We  took  our  medicine;  Dick 
settled  for  the  prescription  and  we  looked  the  building 
over  on  account  of  its  associations.  It  covers  quite 
a  piece  of  ground,  and  has  entrances  from  different 
streets.  Its  principal  one  is  on  1st  San  Francisco  street. 
It  is  of  stone  and  has  the  usual  court  or  patio.  It 
was  built  in  the  18th  century  and  has  been  a  hotel 
since  1855.  The  king  was  put  to  death  by  the  natives 
in  1824  by  being  shot.  Billie  wanted  to  argue  with 
George  about  the  Palenque  cross,  the  tone  of  the  lib- 
erty bell,  and  the  absolute  authenticity  of  the  Guad- 
alupe tilma  image.  George  refused  to  argue  on  sac- 
red subjects,  and  further  reminded  the  scientific,  mat- 
ter-of-fact Billie  that  we  were  in  the  palace  of  the 
king,  at  which  Billie  unconsciously  doffed  his  hat,  for 
Billie  is  some  American  and  the  rest  English.  We 
made  our  way  out  of  this  royal  republican  place,  and 
by  mutual  agreement,  went  to  our  hotel  and  to  dinner. 

A  few  blocks  down  San  Francisco  street  from  the 
Plaza  is  the  Alameda,  the  promenade  park  for  the 
fashionable  people.  Good  walks  and  shade  trees  are 
abundant.  One  side  of  it  fronts  on  what  would  be  a 
continuation  of  San  Francisco  street,  if  they  didn't 
change  the  name  every  block  or  so.  It  is  good  and 
wholesome  looking  and  the  original  of  all  Alamedas  in 
Mexico,  and  every  town  possesses  one. 

Our  visiting  was  not  laid  out  for  us  with  what 
might  be  called  system,  going  when  and  where  the  im- 
pulse suggested. 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  15 

PASEO  AND   CHAPULTEPEC. 

After  lunch  we  fonud  ourselves  on  the  Paseo  de 
la  Reforma,  the  main  boulevard  connecting  the  city 
and  Chapultepec,  beginning  at  the  door  of  our  hotel, 
where  the  Statue  Charles  IV  sits  on  a  horse  thoroughly- 
caparisoned  and  Charles  himself  all  tucked  out  in  his 
best  clothes.  His  feet,  however,  hang  in  the  air,  as  the 
designer  forgot  to  put  stirrups  on  the  saddle,  and  foi 
which  omission  it  is  said  he  either  went  insane  or 
killed  himself  when  this  error  was  discovered  after  the 
statue  had  been  unveiled.  Horse  and  rider  are  bronze 
and  the  casting  is  said  to  be  the  largest  single  piece  of 
this  metal  in  the  world,  weighing  60,000  pounds. 

The  paseo  is  wide  and  well  kept,  and  in  the  glor- 
ietas  where  the  avenue  widens,  statues  of  some  of  the 
famous  men  are  erected.  There  are  six  or  seven  of 
these  glorietas  between  the  statue  of  Charles  FV  and 
Chapultepec.  Stone  seats  under  shade  trees  on  the 
sidewalk  give  good  resting  places  from  the  heat. 
The  avenue  was  built  during  the  reign  of  Maximilian 
and  is  the  show  place  for  all  the  fashionables  of 
Mexico  on  Sunday. 

We  soon  arrived  at  Chapultepec  or  grass-hopper 
hill,  a  beautiful  place  where  it  is  said  once  lived  Monte- 
zuma and  the  rulers  before  him.  The  palace  that 
stands  on  the  hill  was  built  in  1783-5  by  one  of  the 
viceroys,  but  has  been  added  to  and  changed  from 
time  to  time.  It  is  now  the  official  home  of  the  Pres- 
ident and  National  Military  Academy.  We  were  in- 
formed of  its  grandeur  inside,  biit  as  we  did  not  have 


16  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

a  permit  to  enter  and  as  we  were  in  the  machine,  we 
took  interest  in  the  many  other  things  that  were  shown 
us.  A  monument  at  the  base  of  the  hill  tells  of  the 
defense  of  the  castle  by  the  cadets,  when  the  Ameri- 
cans stormed  it  in  1847.  Some  old  trees,  Montezumas 
among  them ;  part  of  the  old  aqueduct,  a  semi-circular 
wall  and  seats  where  the  graduation  of  the  cadets 
takes  place,  were  all  very  interesting. 

We  visited  Coyoacan,  once  the  capital,  and  older 
than  the  City  of  Mexico.  We  were  shown  the  house 
where  Cortez  lived  with  Marina,  another  house  with  a 
garden  in  which  is  the  well  where  he  drowned  his 
wife.  On  the  road  we  passed  a  tree  where  sixteen 
American  soldiers  were  hung  for  deserting  during  the 
Mexican  war.  An  old  church,  I  think  San  Juan 
Bautista,  close  to  which  our  machine  broke  down,  was 
visited.  We  found  in  it  a  black  Jesus  on  the  cross, 
and  many  other  relics.  We  got  fixed  up  and  visited 
San  Angel,  where  an  old  monastery  has  been  turned 
into  a  hotel  or  road-house.  The  building  was  com- 
menced in  1615  and  had  fine  gardens  in  its  time.  We 
were  shown  parts  of  them  that  the  present  occupant  is 
trying  to  put  in  shape.  It  is  a  very  interesting  place, 
and  a  young  boy  about  twelve  who  spoke  good  Eng- 
lish, showed  us  through.  He  had  the  history  of  the 
place  off  by  heart.  We  had  lunch  in  one  of  the  dining 
rooms  once  used  by  the  monks  and  climbed  on  the  roof 
to  admire  the  domes  and  towers  and  the  view  of  the 
surrounding  country.  We  said  good-bye  to  the  old 
house  and  the  young  guide  and  made  our  wa.y  back  to 
the  hotel  at  the  beginning  of  the  Paceo  de  la  Reforma. 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  17 

GUADALUPE. 

The  next  day  we  visited  Guadalupe,  the  Holy 
of  Holies  of  Mexico.  This  place  has  been  and  is  visit- 
ed by  hundreds  of  thousands  annually.  The  miracles 
ascribed  to  it  and  its  history  are  wonderful.  This  is 
the  story :  It  seems  that  an  Indian  named  Juan  Diego, 
a  Christian,  lived  in  the  village  of  Tolpetlac  and  was 
in  the  habit  of  going  around  the  hillside  of  Tepeyacac 
on  his  way  to  the  church  of  Santiago  Tlaltelolco.  On 
Saturday  morning,  December  9th,  1531.  when  on  his 
way  as  usual,  he  heard  SAveet  music.  He  was  afraid 
and  on  loking  up  beheld  a  lady  who  bade  him  hear 
what  she  had  to  say.  He  was  to  go  to  the  Bishop  and 
tell  him  that  it  was  her  will  that  a  temple  in  her  honor 
should  be  erected  on  that  hill.  He  told  his  story  to 
Bishop  Zumarraga,  who  sent  him  away  without  pay- 
ing any  attention  to  his  story.  The  Indian  returned 
to  the  hill  and  found  the  lady  waiting.  He  told  his 
story  of  the  Bishop's  non-belief;  she  bade  him  come 
again.  The  following  day,  Sunday,  he  went  to  the  hill ; 
the  lady  appeared  again,  told  him  to  go  once  more  to 
the  Bishop  with  her  message.  He  did  so  and  the 
Bishop,  to  get  rid  of  him,  told  him  that  the  lady  must 
send  him  some  token  that  what  he  said  was  true,  and 
sent  two  of  his  servants  to  watch  him,  but  Juan  became 
invisible  when  he  got  to  the  hill,  and  passing  around 
to  the  other  side,  saw  the  lady  alone  and  told  her  of 
the  Bishop's  request.  She  told  him  to  come  again  the 
next  day.  When  he  went  home  he  found  his  uncle 
Juan  Bernardino  ill  with  the  fever,  ajid  so  sick  did  he 
become  that  Juan  feared  his  uncle  was  about  to  die. 


18  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

On  the  following  morning,  he  started  out  to  Tlaltelo- 
Ico  to  get  a  confessor  and  fearing  that  if  he  met  the 
lady  he  might  be  delayed  and  his  uncle  die  uncon- 
fessed,  he  went  around  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  but 
he  met  her  coming  down,  calling  to  him.  He  told  her 
about  his  uncle  and  she  informed  him  that  his  uncle 
was  again  well  and  ordered  him  to  gather  flowers 
from  the  barren  rocks  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  im- 
mediately the  flowers  grew  where  flowers  had  never 
been  before.  She  told  him  to  fold  them  in  his  tilma 
or  cloak  and  let  no  one  see  them  till  he  had  shown 
them  to  the  Bishop.  The  lady  then  disappeared  and  a 
spring  of  clear  cold  Avater  gushed  forth  from  the  place 
where  she  stood  and  is  still  flowing  as  the  holy  well. 

Juan  hurried  to  the  Bishop  and  on  dropping  the 
flowers  at  his  feet  found  the  image  of  the  Virgin  on  the 
tilma  in  the  most  beautiful  colors.  The  Bishop  took 
the  tilma  and  had  Juan  escorted  home  by  his  servants 
and  when  he  arrived  found  his  uncle  well  as  the  lady 
had  assured  him.  A  chapel  was  built  on  the  spot 
where  the  roses  sprung  up  from  the  rocks,  and  on  the 
7th  of  February,  1532,  the  tilma,  with  the  holy  image, 
was  placed  over  the  altar  within  the  shrine.  Juan 
and  his  uncle  attended  the  church  till  Juan  died  in 
1548. 

The  legend  of  the  foundation  of  the  church  grew, 
miracles  ascribed  to  the  spring  multiplied,  and  finally 
Rome,  under  Pope  Alexander  VII,  sanctioned  the 
story.  In  1666  a  commission  was  appointed  by  Senor 
Don  Francisco  Siles,  Dean  of  the  Cathedral.  The  men 
so  appointed  went  to  the  village  of  Cuautitlan,  where 


BITS    OF    OliD    MEXICO  19 

Juan  was  born,  and  had  the  story  confirmed  by  the 
natives,  some  of  whom  were  over  a  hundred  years 
old.  This  evidence  was  sent  to  Rome  but  it  was  not 
accepted.  Still  the  pilgrims  visited  the  shrine  and 
cures  followed.  Rome  became  more  reconciled  and 
raised  no  objections  to  the  recognition  of  the  miracle, 
and  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
Virgin  of  Guadalupe  was  made  the  patron  saint  of 
Mexico. 

Hidalgo  took  the  banner  of  the  Virgin  from  the 
church  on  the  15th  of  September,  1810,  and  proclaim- 
ed the  independence  of  Mexico,  and  Guadalupe  be- 
came the  battle  cry.  There  are  many  churches  around 
the  hill  where  the  original  one  was  built  fourteen  days 
after  the  apparition.  One  hundred  years  after  a  larger 
church  was  erected,  and  the  tilma  placed  in  it  Novem- 
ber, 1622,  and  has  remained  there  ever  since,  except 
four  years  in  the  Cathedral  of  the  City  of  Mexico. 

In  1887,  Father  Antonio  Plaucarti  began  the  reno- 
vation of  the  church  of  our  Lady  of  Guadalupe  and 
lived  to  see  its  completion.     He  died  in  1898. 

The  altar  containing  the  frame  holding  the  tilma 
is  Carrara  marble;  on  the  left  is  the  figure  of  Juan 
Zumarraga;  on  the  right,  that  of  Juan  Diego,  and  in 
front  the  kneeling  figure  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mexico 
under  whose  direction  the  work  was  completed. 

The  altar  holds  the  tilma  in  which  Juan  brought 
the  roses  and  on  which  the  image  appeared.  This  pic- 
ture was  submitted  to  artists  and  learned  men  for  ex- 
amination, and  their  verdict  was  that  the  picture  was 
not  painted,  and  they  could   not  say  that  the  colors 


20  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

were  put  on  in  any  way  known  to  art.  This  helped  the 
mystery,  and  in  1895  a  crown  of  gold  and  gems  was 
contributed  by  the  women  of  Mexico,  the  making  alone 
of  which  cost  $30,000.  All  the  dignataries  of  the 
church  assembled  at  the  ceremony  and  tens  of  thous- 
ands of  the  faithful  gathered  around  the  church.  This 
was  the  crowning  glory  of  the  tilma  and  the  Lady  of 
Guadalupe, 

The  chapel  of  the  well  is  on  the  east  of  the  church. 
It  has  a  dome  of  glazed  tile  and  just  inside  and  under 
the  dome,  is  the  spring  where  stood  the  Virgin.  It  is 
sulphur  water,  and  surely  a  spring.  All  day  long 
the  faithful  come  to  drink  at  the  holy  well.  The 
spring  is  covered  by  an  iron  grating.  Copper 
pitchers  are  lowered  to  the  water  by  chains.  The 
Avater  is  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the  surface.  It 
is  continually  flowing  and  the  force  of  the  water  can 
be  seen  very  plainly.  The  pitchers  or  measures  by 
which  the  water  is  raised  and  from  which  all  drink 
indiscriminately  had  lips  of  copper  at  one  time  but 
they  are  worn  away  by  the  application  of  the  lips  of 
the  faithful,  who  come  to  drink  at  the  holy  well. 
Bottles  of  earthenware  can  be  bought  close  by.  We 
procured  some  and  took  away  with  us  to  California 
as  mementos  some  of  the  water  of  this  celebrated 
spring. 

A  short  distance  from  the  spring  is  the  stone 
stairway  leading  to  the  chapel  of  the  hill.  The  steps 
are  many  and  not  easy  to  climb.  Beggars  or  pilgrims 
sit  at  different  points  and  about  half  way  up  are  the 
stone  sails  of  Guadalupe  placed  there  by  some  storm 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  21 

tossed  sailors,  who,  finding  themselves  in  danger,  pray- 
ed to  the  Virgin,  and  promised  that  if  she  would  bring 
them  safe  to  land,  they  would  carry  the  foremast  to  the 
hill  of  Guadalupe  and  set  the  sails  before  her  shrine. 
They  were  saved  and  made  good  their  promise,  for  the 
sails  are  there,  built  of  stone,  but  the  canvas  is  said 
to  be  built  inside.  They  are  cemented  and  bellowed 
as  sails  would  be  in  a  wind.  They  are  quite  a  feature 
and  can  be  seen  from  a  great  distance.  No  one  seems 
to  know  when  the  sails  were  built  nor  the  names  of  the 
people  and  this  lends  added  interest  to  the  hill  and 
the  Lady. 

In  the  chapel  of  the  hill  where  the  flowers  grew 
from  the  rocks  and  in  the  main  church  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  are  hundreds  of  testimonials  of  faith  cures  or 
miracles  wrought  by  the  Virgin.  They  consist  of  paint- 
ings, some  very  crude,  draw^n  by  persons  cured  or  sav- 
ed, and  depicting  the  actual  occurrence.  Back  of  the 
altar  in  the  main  church  in  a  place  set  apart  for  this 
purpose  the  walls  are  literally  covered  with  testi- 
monials of  this  character. 

Guadalupe,  viewed  even  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
skeptic,  is  wonderful.  A  shrine  and  the  religion  that 
can  bring  the  Mexicans  that  I  saw  to  their  knees  in 
humility,  must  have  a  beneficial  influence  on  their 
lives  and  character.  Good-bye,  Guadalupe;  we  leave 
you  without  trying  to  lessen  your  influence,  or  solve 
your  mysteries. 


22  BITS    OP^    OLD    MEXICO 

LA  VIGA  CANAL. 

The  guide  book  told  us  to  go  to  ''La  Viga  Canal," 
and  we  went.  We  went  by  street  car  and  landed  a 
feAv  blocks  from  the  canal  proper,  but  that  was  not 
its  fault  but  ours.  I  have  been  to  the  gap  of  Dunloe, 
Ireland,  and  the  Blue  Grotto  at  Capri,  Italy,  and  am 
prepared  to  say  that  the  places  are  all  right.  So  is 
the  Viga  Canal ;  like  the  others,  if  one  could  kill  off 
the  people  temporarily,  and  allow  a  person  to  enjoy  the 
thing,  without  being  importuned,  coerced,  or  begged 
for  something  in  the  shape  of  money  that  you  don't 
want  to  separate  yourself  from. 

The  Viga  Canal  is  beautiful  in  history,  and  its 
floating  gardens  still  float.  The  paseo  de  la  Viga  runs 
along  the  bank  of  the  famous  canal — so  says  the  book. 
It  does  not  tell  you  of  the  horde  of  natives  who  want 
to  sell  you  their  boat,  or  the  worse  alternative  of 
walking  on  a  poor  street.  Of  the  smell  and  stench, 
of  the  unsanitary  conditions  of  little  stagnant  ditches 
across  from  this  canal,  on  the  paseo  de  la  Viga  where 
open  seepage  filters  or  stands  in  gulleys,  raising  its 
noise  to  heaven  and  to  ones  nostrils. 

The  canal  itself  is  muddy-looking  and  about  thirty 
feet  wide.  The  guide  book  assures  you  that  the  water 
does  not  carry  off  the  sewage  of  the  city,  but  is  pure 
as  it  comes  from  the  lakes.  I  don 't  question  the  book, 
but  the  lake  had  better  get  an  immunity  bath  for 
purity. 

The  canal,  if  it  were  wider,  and  the  water  clean, 
the  paseo  alongside  made  good,  the  stench  on  the  op- 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  23 

posite  side  modified,  the  boats  made  possible,  and  the 
boatmen  drowned,  then  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
Dick  would  provide  a  good  lunch,  including  liquids 
and  solids;  George  would  have  faith  in  the  floating 
garden ;  Billie  would  let  up  on  the  accuracy  of  the 
amount  of  animal  and  vegetable  matter  afloat  on  the 
canal  and  all  would  be  perfectlj'^  happy  on  a  trip  in  one 
of  the  many  flower-decorated  floating  palaces  to  be 
found  on  or  in  the  celebrated  canal  de  la  Viga. 

THE  BULL  FIGHT. 

In  Mexico  one  could  possibly  get  along  without 
chili  con  earue,  tortillas,  or  even  frijoles,  but  to  get 
along  without  seeing  a  bull  fight  when  opportunity 
presents  itself,  would  simply  be  unreasonable.  Op- 
portunity and  desire  worked  hand  in  hand.  The  day 
was  Sunday  and  a  special  event  by  some  celebrated 
fighters,  Avhether  Mexican  or  Spanish,  I  don't  know. 
Anyhow,  we  had  our  tickets,  and  soon  found  ourselves 
inside,  or  rather  outside,  for  when  you  get  in,  you 
are  out,  so  far  as  the  sun  in  concerned.  Our  seats 
called  for  "sombre,"  but  the  sun  seemed  to  do  busi- 
ness there  as  well  as  in  the  other  parts  of  the  arena ; 
but  we  had  come  to  see  a  bull  fight,  and  so  made  up 
our  minds  that  everything  leading  up  to  that  event 
was  all  right,  we  paid  thirty  cents  each  to  a  peddler 
for  cushions,  which,  in  a  measure  saves  one  from  the 
heat  of  the  concrete  seats,  and  the  mention  of  the 
seats  reminds  me  that  a  short  description  of  the  bull- 
pen or  arena  might  be  in  order. 

"The  plaza  de  Toros"  is  something  up  to  date  and 


24  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

a  little  ahead  in  Mexico.  It  is  built  of  steel  and  con- 
crete, in  circular  form.  The  arena  proper,  where  the 
fight  occurs,  is,  say  250  feet  in  diameter.  Then  comes 
a  bench  about  two  feet  high  and  a  fence  six  feet  high, 
an  aisle  about  four  feet;  then  ten  feet  above  that  be- 
gins the  seats,  all  in  the  open,  and  arranged  in  such 
manner  that  everyone  can  see.  The  seating  capacity 
is  about  thirty-five  thousand. 

After  the  president  is  seated,  for  even  bull  fights 
have  referees  or  judges,  and  all  is  ready  a  bugle  blows, 
and  from  the  side  opposite  where  the  judge  sits  enter 
the  performers.  First  comes  the  manager  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind  on  a  horse.  He  is  a  regular  Cali- 
fornia cowboy  in  his  Sunday  clothes.  He  rides  across 
the  bull  pen,  and  says  in  Mexican-Spanish  that  he 
would  like  permission  to  annihilate  a  few  bulls.  The 
president,  (also  in  Spanish)  "You're  on,"  then  the 
cowboy  makes  his  horse  back  away  from  the  presi- 
dent's station,  clear  across  the  arena,  and  the  more  he 
makes  the  horse  dance  and  jump  around  the  more 
applause  he  gets. 

The  curtain  now  being  up,  so  to  speak,  a  gate 
opens  directly  opposite  the  judge,  and  in  comes  the 
show  (all  but  the  bull). 

They  come  in  theatrical  costumes  of  silk.  First 
the  gentlemen  who  do  the  assassination  of  the  bulls ; 
then  the  banderilleros,  or  assistant  assassins,  then  the 
capeadores,  or  the  hope-to-be  bull  killers,  whose  pres- 
ent duty  is  to  be  a  red  rag  to  the  bull,  the  riders  of 
"has-been"  horses  that  are  to  be  killed  by  the  bulls, 
and  the  mules  to  drag  out  the  dead — all  parade  to  the 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  25 

center   and   look    pleasant.     The    president    gives    his 
permission  and  the  show  is  on. 

A  door  opens  from  which  rushes  a  bull  that  has 
been  confined  in  the  dark.  Just  before  it  reaches 
the  arena  a  steel  barb  is  stuck  in  its  shoulder  with 
colors  to  tell  the  audience  where  it  came  from  and 
make  the  bull  mad.  The  barb  usually  carries  the  col- 
ors of  the  breeder  and  the  fight  is  often  decided  in  the 
minds  of  the  populace  by  the  colors. 

The  bull,  as  it  comes  in,  generally  stops  on  account 
of  the  light,  but  after  taking  its  bearings  and  finding 
something  to  get  even  on  for  the  prong  that  is  stick- 
ing in  its  shoulder,  makes  a  break  for  the  nearest  thing 
it  sees  and  that  is  one  of  the  hopes-to-be,  with  a  color- 
ed flag,  but  he  gets  over  the  fence.  The  bull  then 
sees  a  horse  and  a  man.  The  horse  is  old  and  brought 
out  for  the  purpose  of  additional  excitement,  and 
whetting  the  bull's  appetite  for  battle.  The  rider 
deliberately  rides  the  poor  old  thing  blindfolded,  on 
one  side,  and  meets  the  onslaught  of  the  bull.  The 
man  unfortunately  can  see.  The  horse  is  gored ;  if  not 
killed,  a  second  chance  is  presented.  Better  be  killed 
in  the  first  attack,  old  hack,  for  if  only  ripped  up  and 
the  judge's  bugle  sounds  the  end  of  the  first  round, 
and  you  are  ridden  out,  you  will  be  sewed  up  and 
ridden  in  again  for  another  bull.  After  a  number  of 
attacks,  and  the  horses  have  or  have  not  been  killed, 
a  bugle  sounds  and  one  part  of  the  fight  is  over  and  the 
horses  are  taken  awav.     The  bull  looks  the  situation 


26  BJTS    OP    0]^D    MEXICO 

over  and  chases  the  capeadore,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  bull. 

The  banderillero  now  does  his  act  by  attracting 
the  bull's  attention,  and  as  it  charges,  he  steps  to  one 
side  and  plants  two  banderiilas  in  the  bull's  shoulder. 
It  is  quite  a  feat  to  stick  the  banderiilas  correctly,  as 
they  must  not  be  placed  back  of  the  shoulder.  The 
I)anderilla  is  an  iron  dart  about  two  feet  long,  barbed 
at  the  point,  and  when  correctly  placed  will  stand  up 
straight.  The  bull,  about  this  time,  is  thoroughly 
aroused  to  madness,  and  it  tears  around  the  ring,  only 
to  get  some  more  banderiilas  stuck  in  its  other  should- 
er by  one  of  its  tormentors.  One  of  the  banderilleros 
sat  down  in  a  chair  and  after  the  bull  got  its  eye  on 
him  and  his  flag,  charged  at  full  speed.  The  man  sat 
in  the  chair  till  the  bull  was  Avitliin  about  five  feet  of 
him;  then,  jumping  to  one  side,  let  the  bull  pass,  at 
the  same  time  planting  two  more  of  the  darts  in  its 
shoulder.  It  seems  that  the  bull,  when  it  charges 
shuts  its  eyes,  and  the  bull  fighter,  knowing  this, 
figures  accordingly.  This  fellow  who  did  the  chair 
act,  then  took  a  long  vaulting  pole  and  let  the  bull 
charge  him,  and  as  it  approached,  he  stuck  the  pole  in 
the  ground  and  vaulted,  the  bull  striking  the  pole, 
and  the  man  landing  behind  the  bull. 

After  these  gentlemen  have  shown  what  they  can 
do  in  banderilla  sticking,  the  bugle  s,ounds  and  then 
comes  the  great  act  of  killing.  The  matador,  with  his 
sword  and  red  flag,  comes  out  and  makes  a  speech, 
while  the  other  fellows  are  entertaining  the  bull  at 
the  other  end  of  the  ring.     After  telling  the  audience 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  27 

how  he  is  p:oin<;  to  do  it  and  throwing  his  hat  to  some 
one,  as  much  as  to  say,  "II"  1  don't  do  this  right,  I  will 
eat  my  hat,"  or  words  to  that  effect,  he  proceeds  to 
have  the  bull  charge  him  by  tlaunting  his  red  rag. 
The  bull  is  alloAved  to  get  a  number  of  chances  at  the 
matador,  and  usually  winds  up  by  standing  with  head 
doAA'n  while  the  flag  is  flaunted  before  him.  The  mata- 
dor points  his  sword  and  the  bull  charges.  The  mata- 
dor jumps  to  one  side  and  as  he  does  so,  plunges  the 
sword  through  the  bull's  shoulder  into  its  heart. 
Should  the  thrust  be  true,  the  bull  either  falls  or  runs 
a  few  paces  and  gradually  sinks  to  the  ground;  then 
another  man,  called  the  cachetero  runs  up  and  with  a 
knife  cuts  the  spinal  cord,  and  the  bull,  sure  enough,  is 
a  dead  one.  Sometimes  the  matador  fails  to  kill  and 
the  bull  will  run  around  the  ring  with  the  sword  of  the 
matador  sticking  in  his  shoulder.  Then  he  or  some 
other  matador  must  let  the  bull  charge,  and  snatch 
the  sword  out  and  try  again. 

The  crowd  shows  its  approval  or  disapproval  in 
a  manner  not  to  be  forgotten.  Should  the  matador 
kill  his  bull  as  he  has  promised  the  audience  will  go 
wild  and  throw  their  hats  and  cigars  into  the  ring  to 
show  their  approval  and  yell  like  so  many  Indians 
but  should  the  unfortunate  swordsman  fail  after  a 
number  of  trials  to  dispatch  his  bull  he  will  soon  find 
out  that  he  is  not  one  of  the  most  beloved  in  Mexico. 

The  bull  being  dead,  four  mules  are  driven  into 
the  arena  and  the  dead  bull  is  hitched  onto  a  tackle 
and  dragged  around  the  ring  and  out.  Six  bulls,  I 
understand,     constitute     a     show.      Six     were     killed 


28  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

at  the  fight  I  saw  and  two  refused  to  fight  and  were 
run  off  the  field  in  disgrace  but  you  could  almost  see 
them  wink  the  other  eye  Avhen  a  couple  of  trained 
old  bulls  came  in  and  ran  around  the  ring  with  them 
and  led  them  out.  I  don't  know  which  bull  had  the 
best  of  the  argument,  the  one  that  fought  and  was 
killed,  or  the  one  that  wouldn't  fight  and  got  killed 
because  he  didn't. 

The  fight  is  over.  The  people  file  out.  Then 
comes  the  company  of  soldiers  that  have  been  on  duty 
inside  the  arena  to  preserve  order,  and  it  seems  from 
what  I  have  heard  that  their  presence  is  necessary, 
for  on  more  than  one  occasion  the  audience  have 
broken  up  everything  they  could  get  hold  of  when  the 
fight  did  not  come  up  to  their  standard  of  blood  and 
thunder. 

I  have  seen  the  show  and  would  not  have  missed 
it,  but  would  not  care  to  see  it  as  a  continuous  per- 
formance. The  killing  of  the  bulls  is  not  so  exceed- 
ingly brutal,  since  they  are  killed  as  a  rule  anyway, 
but  the  slaughter  of  the  poor  horses,  is,  in  my  opinion, 
without  excuse.  Had  the  horse  a  run  for  its  money, 
or  a  show  for' its  life,  there  might  be  some  sport  in  it, 
but  to  deliberately  ride  a  poor  old  hack  of  a  horse 
against  a  maddened  bull  and  allow  the  bull  to  rip  it 
up,  I  consider  not  only  brutal  but  cowardly.  If  they 
would  put  a  good  rider  on  a  California  bronco  and  let 
the  rider  use  his  horsemanship  in  getting  away  from 
the  bull,  I  would  think  it  sport,  but  to  kill  a  poor  old 
hack  of  a  horse  for  the   edification   of  the  crowd  is 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  29 

enough  to  condemn  the  whole  business  of  bull  fighting. 

I  had  an  argument  with  one  of  the  lovers  of  the 
sport  about  the  horse  killing,  and  he  tried  to  justify 
it  by  saying  that  the  horses  were  old  and  useless,  and 
put  the  question  to  me  like  this:  Would  you  rather 
see  an  old  horse  hitched  up  to  a  carriage  and  whipped 
because  it  could  not  go  the  pace  its  driver  required,  or 
brought  into  the  arena  after  it  had  been  given  an  in- 
jection that  practically  killed  all  feeling,  yet  at  the 
same  time  gave  it  a  temporary  fire,  and  be  killed  by 
the  horns  of  the  bull,  the  end  sudden  and  practically 
painless,  when  otherwise,  life  would  be  one  of  pain 
and  misery.  I  didn't  know  then  and  I  don't  know 
now  about  the  life  or  death  of  the  horse  from  this 
point  of  view,  but  I  do  know  that  if  the  horse  was 
supposed  to  be  killed  in  a  fight  it  should  be  given  a 
show  to  defend  itself,  instead  of  being  blindfolded.  It 
seems  to  me  if  they  blindfolded  the  rider  and  let  the 
horse  have  its  sight,  there  might  be  more  justice  in 
the  fight  than  the  way  I  saw  it. 

The  people  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  and  as  it  is  their 
national  sport,  if  I  don't  like  it.  I  can  keep  away  from 
it,  and  go  and  see  a  prize  fight  where  a  couple  of 
gentlemen  Avill  be  able  to  punch  each  other  to  a  jellj^ 
in  an  approved  and  scientific  manner  before  an  aud- 
ience of  the  most  enlightened  people  on  the  face  of 
the  earth. 

THE  PYRAMIDS. 

The  following  day  was  devoted  to  visiting  the 
pyramids  of  the  sun  and  moon  at  San  Juan  Teolihua- 


30  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

can,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  city.  We  got 
an  early  train  and  after  an  hour's  run  found  ourselves 
on  the  platform  of  the  station,  and  about  three  miles 
from  the  pyramids  proper.  How  to  get  there  became 
the  question.  We  inquired  and  were  given  to  under- 
stand that  a  short  line  railroad  across  the  street  or 
plaza  would  take  us  there.  We  found  what  might 
be  a  station  or  engine  house;  the  tracks  were  there 
and  a  handcar  somewhat  larger  than  that  used  by  road 
crews.  We  sat  down  on  it  and  wondered  if  this  was 
to  be  our  train.  We  hadn't  long  to  wait,  for  in  a  min- 
ute five  bare-footed  natives  came  running  out  from 
somewhere  and  got  aboard.  I  gave  an  imitation  of  a 
train  whistle.  They  laughed  and  immediately  started 
the  machine,  pumping  in  the  most  approved  railroad 
fashion.  The  road  was  up  hill  and  the  work  was 
hard.  They  tried  to  be  sociable  in  Mexican  and  we  en- 
deavored to  reciprocate  in  English,  but  I  noticed  that 
we  never  saw  a  joke  at  the  same  time.  It  was  usually 
a  laugh  by  the  Mexicans  followed  by  a  silence  on  our 
part  after  we  had  hurled  a  few  well  chosen  sentences 
at  them  in  the  purest  Castilian.  Our  laugh  came  in  at 
the  evident  mistake  that  had  been  made  somewhere 
for  we  were' either  Government  officials  or  guests  ex- 
pected by  the  officers.  This  conclusion  we  arrived  at 
by  their  desire  to  get  us  there,  and  the  apparent  re- 
spect shown  us. 

We  arrived  at  a  gate  or  entrance  leading  to  the 
pyramids.  We  alighted  from  our  observation  ear  and 
a  hurried  conversation  took  place,  the  five  Mexicans 
all  talking  at  once.     I  took  it  for  granted  that  money 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  31 

was  the  chief  topic  of  interest,  and  proceeded  to  in- 
form them  that  they  would  receive  a  rich  reward  on 
delivering  us  once  more  at  the  railroad  station  at  San 
Juan.  This  did  not  seem  to  meet  with  unanimous 
approval,  and  I  finally  convinced  them  that  one  of 
their  party  should  accompany  us.  This  seemed  to  be 
more  or  less  satisfactory.  The  ear  was  taken  off  the 
track  and  carried  inside  the  gate,  and  we  all  proceed- 
ed to  what  appeared  to  be  a  guard  house.  We  were 
confronted  by  soldiers,  and  I  was  informed  that  I 
would  have  to  leave  my  camera  there  while  inspect- 
ing these  monuments  to  Mexican  greatness,  as  no  tour- 
ist was  permitted  to  take  pictures. 

Our  train  crew  and  escort  we  soon  discovered 
were  soldiers,  and  on  their  arrival,  were  apparently 
put  on  duty,  and  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  them. 
We  regretted  this  very  much  as  we  had  intended  to 
give  them  some  money  for  their  trouble.  A  guide  was 
detailed  to  show  us  about  and  take  us  to  the  top  if 
we  so  desired,  but  we  didn't.  We  walked  around 
the  pyramid  of  the  sun  and  climbed  part  way  up,  took 
a  look  at  the  moon,  returned  to  the  guard  house, 
bought  some  photographs,  treated  the  official  photo- 
grapher and  others  as  Ave  found  beer  for  sale,  tip- 
ped the  guide,  got  our  belongings  and  started  for  the 
gate  and  our  hand  car.  But  the  train  crew  was  missing 
and  probably  at  that  moment  was  watching  us  from 
afar  and  hurling  a  few  choice  morsels  of  dialect  at  us 
for  our  Gringo  meanness.  While  we  were  wondering 
if  we  would  have  to  be  like  bad  actors  and  count  the 
railroad  ties,  a  wagon  carrying. some  tourists  arrived 


32  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

on  the  scene,  and  we  bargained  with  the  driver  to  take 
us  back  to  the  station.  "We  arrived,  I  was  going  to 
say,  safe  and  sound,  but  I  think  it  would  be  better  to 
just  say,  we  arrived,  for  the  road  over  which  that 
wagon  found  its  way  was  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made,  but  the  ruins  of  shrine  and  wall  strewn  along 
the  route  compensated  for  the  ruined  road  we  traveled, 
but  all  things  Mexican  have  an  end,  and  so  did  our 
road.  We  had  about  an  hour  to  contemplate  the  pic- 
ture and  our  experience  before  the  train  arrived  to 
take  us  back  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

The  visit  itself,  after  all  was  over,  was  satisfac- 
tory, and  we  look  back  on  it  as  one  of  much  interest. 

The  pyramids  of  the  sun  and  moon,  we  learned, 
are  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  east  of  the  City 
of  Mexico.  The  history  of  their  building,  like  that  of 
many  other  monuments  of  that  country,  is  lost,  because 
as  is  believed  of  the  destruction  of  the  picture  writ- 
ings of  the  Aztecs  and  Toltics  by  the  Spaniards.  Be 
this  as  it  may  the  pyramid  of  the  sun  as  it  stands  today 
is  761  by  721  feet  at  the  ground  line,  216  feet  8  inches 
high  and  105  by  59  feet  at  the  top.  The  pyramid  of 
the  moon  is  511  by  426  feet  at  the  base,  151  feet  high 
and  19  feet'  8  inches  square  on  top.  Both  are  faced 
on  the  outside  with  large  boulders  or  rough  broken 
rock  of  irregular  size  from  8  to  18  inches  square,  ob- 
long or  round.  The  sun  is  apparently  solid,  as  no 
chambers  have  ever  been  found  in  it.  The  pyramid  of 
the  moon,  though  smaller,  has  an  added  interest  in 
the  fact  that  some  years  ago  an  entrance  to  a  chamber 
was  discovered  and  when  the  chamber  was  explored, 


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BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  33 

it  was  found  to  face  due  north  and  south.     Its  walls 
were  of  cut  stone ;  its  size  we  did  not  get. 

The  valley  in  which  these  pyramids  are  built 
is  said  to  contain  many  wonderful  ruins,  and  a  cause- 
way has  been  traced  from  the  citadel  passing  the  pyra- 
mid of  the  sun  and  ending  at  the  pyramid  of  the  moon. 
This  is  known  as  the  street  of  the  dead.  Along  its 
sides  are  old  ruins  supposed  to  be  shrines  and  in  which 
have  been  found  chests  of  cut  stone  containing  skulls 
and  ornaments,  but  the  history  of  the  builders  and 
their  lives  has  been  left  largely  to  conjecture. 

The  absolute  depth  of  the  foundation  of  these 
pyramids  has  never  been  ascertained,  but  it  is  thought 
that  if  they  were  uncovered,  they  would  be  the  largest 
in  the  world. 

The  next  day  was  devoted  to  automobiling.  We 
took  in  the  American  cemetery  where  the  remains 
of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  American  soldiers  killed 
in  the  Mexican  war.  lie  buried  in  one  common  grave, 
over  which  is  erected  a  monument.  Many  other  dis- 
tinguished Americans  are  buried  in  this,  the  only  spot 
in  Mexico  where  the  American  flag  can  wave  alone. 
The  place  is  in  charge  of  an  old  veteran  of  the  civil 
war.  His  name  is  Thomas.  He  is  paid  by  the  United 
States  Government,  and  deserves  great  credit  for  the 
care  he  bestOM's  on  it.  We  tried  to  give  him  some- 
thing for  the  care  of  the  flowers,  but  he  wouldn't 
have  it,  declaring  that  Uncle  Sam  paid  for  the  care 
of  all  things  pertaining  to  the  place,  including  himself. 


34  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

We  were  very  much  pleased  at  the  old  man's  pride  and 
his  loyalty  to  his  country. 

On  our  return  from  the  cemetery  we  passed  the 
"Portales"  of  the  letter  writers.  Here  is  a  street,  or 
at  least  a  block  where  the  sidewalk  or  portales  is  de- 
voted to  the  reading  and  writing  of  letters  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  don't  know  the  language,  or  more 
especially  for  those  who  cannot  read  or  write.  A 
letter  is  taken  to  one  of  the  men  or  women  at  this 
place  and  it  is  read  to  the  owner  as  often  as  necessary 
to  get  all  the  contents  into  his  head.  Then  the  owner 
of  the  letter  either  goes  home  to  impart  the  news  to  the 
family  and  frame  a  reply  or  has  it  answered  immed- 
iately. Typewriting  machines  have  been  introduced 
lately,  and  we  were  informed  that  quite  a  protest 
was  raised  by  the  natives  against  the  American  mil- 
lionaire-like machine  for  letter  writing. 

Many  amusing  stories  are  told  about  the  young 
swain  going  with  a  love  letter  from  his  inamorita  to 
have  it  read  by  one  of  these  professional  letter  writers, 
and  one  in  particular  is  told  for  gospel  truth  as  hav- 
ing happened  on  the  portales,  and  runs  as  follows:  A 
young  girl  whose  lover  had  gone  away  and  from  whom 
she  had  received  a  letter  hied  her  to  the  portales  to 
have  it  read.  Her  first  question  was,  "Who  is  it 
from?'*  and  when  told  she  insisted  on  the  letter  reader 
putting  cotton  batting  in  her  ears  so  that  she  could 
not  hear  what  was  about  to  be  read.  The  story  is  a 
good  one  but  it  has  been  told  so  often  in  the  United 
States  that  when  it  got  out  of  standing  as  a  joke,  it 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  35 

betook  itself  to  the  portales  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 

In  motoring:  one  is  attracted  bj'  the  number  of 
small  boys  that  nm  immediately  in  front  of  the  pass- 
ing machine.  I  remarked  on  this  fact  and  was  in- 
formed that  thej^  were  small  bull  fighters  or  boys  that 
"hoped  to  be,"  and  they  passed  as  near  as  possible, 
making  believe  the  machine  was  a  bull  and  showing 
their  dexterity  by  touching  the  auto  as  it  came  within 
an  inch  of  running  them  down.  I  found  that  boys 
pla.y  bull  fighting  on  the  streets  and  plazas  as  boys  in 
the  United  States  play  tag  or  ball.  One  boy  becomes 
the  bull  and  about  three  or  four  others  are  matadores 
or  toreadores.  The  fighters  use  an  old  newspaper  for 
a  flag,  and  the  bull  boy  charges  one  at  a  time.  The 
game  is  for  the  bull  to  butt  a  fighter  and  the  fighter 
shows  his  cleverness  by  side  stepping,  and  I  was  told 
that  many  of  these  small  boys  actually  become  sure 
enough  bull  fighters  through  the  dexterity  acquired  in 
their  game  of  make-believe. 

We  had  now  seen  as  much  of  the  city  and  its  sur- 
roundings as  time  would  allow,  so  we  procured  tickets 
for  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  following  morning  at  7  a.  m., 
pulled  out  on  our  way  to  places  and  scenes  truly  Mex- 
ican. 

The  journey  from  the  city  to  Esperanza  is  unin- 
teresting except  here  and  there,  such  as,  passing  in 
view  of  the  pyramids  ol'  the  sun  and  moon  before 
mentioned,  and  the  stop  at  Apizaco.  where  canes  of  all 
sizes  with  curious  carvings  are  exposed  for  sale — the 


36  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

large  ones  are  like  cord  wood  and  the  smallest  like 
tooth  picks. 

The  country  through  which  we  passed  is  barren 
except  for  cactus  or  the  pulque  plant.  I  was  attract- 
ed to  it  at  first  on  account  of  its  resemblance  to  the 
century  plant.  Thousands  of  acres  of  land  seemed 
to  grow  nothing  else.  The  plant  is  set  out  like  a  vine- 
yard or  orchard,  in  regular  rows.  We  had  heard 
about  the  pulque  and  during  our  visit  to  the  city  had 
visited  some  of  the  cantinas  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
sale  of  that  beverage;  and  now  we  were  in  the  midst 
of  its  cultivation,  if  such  a  word  can  be  used,  for  it 
seems  to  come  out  of  a  soil  that  positively  refuses  to 
produce  anything  else  in  the  shape  of  plant  life.  I 
was  astonished  to  learn  the  extent  of  the  traffic  in  its 
product,  and  will  just  let  the  train  take  care  of  itself 
between  Apizaco  and  Esperanza  while  I  set  down 
something  about  it. 

The  maguey  plant  produces  pulque  tequila  and 
mescal,  the  last  two  liquors  being  obtained  by  distill- 
ing the  roots  and  lower  leaves,  and  the  pulque  by  fer- 
menting the  sap  or  juice  of  the  heart  and  upper  leaves. 
It  blooms  but  once,  and  when  that  event  takes  place, 
what  would  be  the  flower  is  cut  out,  leaving  a  bowl- 
like hole  in  the  center,  into  which  the  sap  from  the 
leaves  empty,  and  as  each  leaf  pours  out  its  juice  it 
withers  and  dies.  This  juice  is  called  ''honey  water." 
The  natives  come  daily  and  from  each  plant  so  tapped 
suck  up  with  a  gourd  from  one  to  two  gallons  till  the 
plant  is  dead.  This  juice  is  emptied  into  a  hogskin 
and  from  the  hogskin  to  a  cask  in  the  wagon.     It  is 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  37 

then  taken  to  the  ranch  or  hacienda  and  fermented, 
and  special  trains  are  run  at  night  on  passenger  train 
time  to  get  the  pulque  on  the  city  market  before  it 
spoils.  I  was  told  that  four  long  trains  laden  with 
this  milk-looking  "jag  producer"  arrive  every  morn- 
ing, and  is  immediately  distributed  to  the  four 
hundred  cantinas  that  make  a  specialty  of  dispensing 
fresh  the  pulque  that  M'ould  spoil  if  left  in  the  pig  skin, 
but  makes  the  world  look  brighter  when  stowed  away 
in  the  hogskin. 

Tequila  is  an  intermediate  between  pulque  and 
mescal.  The  latter  is  the  strongest  and  has  about 
the  same  strength  as  American  tangle  foot ;  tequila 
about  the  strength  of  the  so-called  California  foot 
juice,  and  pulque  the  characteristics  of  them  both  when 
taken   in   sufficient   quantities. 

The  mountains  of  Popocatapetl  and  Ixtaccihuatl 
17,782  and  16,060  feet  high  respectively,  can  be  seen 
for  quite  a  distance  on  this  road.  Then  comes 
Mount  Malintzi,  13,462  feet,  along  the  base  of  which 
the  train  wends  its  way.  About  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  train  arrives  at  Esperanza,  a  junction 
8.043  feet  above  the  sea.  A  good  meal  is  served  in 
twenty  minutes.  It  consists  of  about  seven  courses,  if 
you  want  to  take  it  that  way.  The  different  dishes  are 
passed  and  if  you  are  lively  you  get  your  share,  al- 
though there  is  a  good  supply,  but  the  courses  come  so 
rapidly  that  you  have  about  satisfied  yourself  what  you 
are  going  to  eat  M'hen  the  next  course  comes  along. 

After  lunch  I  lit  a  cigar  and  looked  around  while 
the  others  of  our  party  were  yet  at  the  table  and  on 


38  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

my  return  to  the  platform  saw  my  train  about  a  hund- 
red yards  down  the  track  on  its  way  to  Vera  Cruz. 
Billie  was  on  the  rear  platform  in  company  with  some 
Mexican  g:entleman.  He  beckoned  me  to  hurry  up, 
and  the  Mexicans  signalled  with  their  hands  to  go 
back.  All  hands  became  more  or  less  confusing  in 
their  signs.  I  did  not  know  whether  from  Billie 's 
sign  to  run  ahead  and  catch  up  with  the  train,  or  take 
the  Mexican's  signal  to  mean  that  the  train  was  only 
switching.  My  doubts  were  ended  by  the  train  stop- 
ping and  Billie  shouting  that  I  had  been  left.  When 
this  fact  dawned  on  me,  I  think  I  broke  the  sprint- 
ing record  to  get  aboard. 

The  ride  from  Esperanza  down  through  and 
around  the  mountains  to  Maltrata,  a  distance  of  seven- 
teen miles,  by  winding  rail  and  a  drop  of  2,493  feet,  is 
as  pretty  a  piece  of  scenery  as  it  has  ever  been  my 
privilege  to  behold.  A  stop  is  made  at  Alta  Luz  for 
the  engine  to  take  water  and  this  is  the  point  where 
everybody  gets  out,  for  the  scene  is  almost  beyond 
description.  The  guide  book  tells  you  that  you  are 
twelve  miles  by  rail  from  Maltrata,  yet  there,  two 
thousand  feet  straight  down  below  you,  can  be  seen 
the  red  tiles  of  the  roofs,  the  streets  and  gardens,  the 
fields  and  rivers,  in  all  their  varied  colors,  like  a  minia- 
ture landscape. 

The  railroad  can  be  seen  on  the  mountainside  at 
different  levels  on  its  way  to  the  valley,  and  beyond 
all  this  Avonderful  scene  on  the  opposite  side,  arises  the 
tall  peak  of  Mount  Orizaba,  17,356  feet  high.  The 
grandeur  of  this  picture  is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that  it 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  39 

comes  on  one  so  suddenly.  After  passing  over  a  bridge 
or  trestle  the  height  of  which  makes  your  hair  raise 
in  protest  or  fear,  you  plunge  into  a  tunnel  and  from 
its  darkness  out  into  the  bright  sunlight  directly  upon 
the  scene  above  spoken  of.  As  we  descended  over 
bridges,  through  tunnels,  or  clinging  to  the  mountain 
side,  it  is  surprise  after  surprise.  The  road  at  one 
place  enters  the  Canon  "  Inf iernillo "  or  the  ravine  of 
the  "Little  Hell."  At  this  point  a  bridge  one  hundred 
and  forty  feet  high  is  built  over  a  roaring  cascade. 
The  moimtain  side  is  a  sheer  up  and  down  precipice 
with  the  water  falling  into  the  chasm  below. 

After  losing  the  view,  by  running  around  the 
mountain  and  through  a  tunnel,  we  come  to  the  valley 
of  the  cascades ;  from  this  on  we  are  in  the  tropics, 
and  coffee  and  cane  fields,  bananas  and  other  tropical 
products  are  on  either  side. 

We  soon  arrive  at  Maltrata,  where  we  stop  for  a 
few  minutes.  The  difference  betAveen  the  northern 
Mexican  and  the  people  we  now  found  was  a  revela- 
tion. Here  was  cleanliness  and  life ;  the  women  dress- 
ed in  light  washable  material  and  the  men  in  white 
wide  pants  and  wider  sombreros.  All  was  color  and 
gayety,  and  happiness  seemed  in  the  very  air. 

A  run  of  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour  through 
(•otton  fields  and  orange  groves  lands  us  in  the  town 
of  Orizaba  Avhere  we  break  our  journey  for  the  present. 

ORIZABA. 

The  town  proper  is  about  a  half  mile  from  the 
station;   is   old   and   pretty   and   had   quite   a   history 


40  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

even  before  the  conquest,  having  been  noted  then,  as 
it  is  now,  for  its  climate;  its  freedom  from  fever 
making  it  a  resort  for  the  people  from  the  coast.  It 
has  one  long  str^t  and  several  cross  ones  of  smaller 
length  and  width.  Its  market  is  one  of  the  principal 
features,  and  the  tropical  fruit  display  is  something 
to  marvel  at.  The  churches,  of  course,  take  the  lead 
in  importance.  The  first  El  Calvario,  later  the  Santa 
Teresa,  was  built  in  1564.  The  present  parish  church 
is  the  church  that  was  completed  in  1720.  It  is  called 
the  San  Miguel.  It  is  of  stone  and  required  about 
fifty  years  to  build.  It  contains  a  fine  inlaid  chest  of 
ebony  and  ivory  for  the  keeping  of  the  vestments. 
Many  other  churches  of  almost  equal  age  and  impor- 
tance are  to  be  found  in  different  parts  of  the  town, 
and  each  one  with  its  particular  history. 

The  coffee  groves  are  so  abundant  the  guide 
book  tells  us  that  we  will  be  at  a  loss  to  know 
whether  the  coffee  groves  are  in  Orizaba  or  Orizaba 
in  the  coffee  groves. 

The  town  is  situated  on  a  terrace,  the  first  one 
above  the  Tierra  Caliente,  snuggling  close  to  the 
mountain,  beyond  which  can  be  seen  the  snow  capped 
top  of  the  volcano  of  Orizaba. 

Cotton  cuts  quite  a  figure  in  the  industry  of  the 
place,  and  many  mills  are  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. We  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  one  during  our 
stay,  and  this  is  how  it  happened. 

A  play  of  some  kind  was  running  at  the  theatre, 
and  we  took  it  in  the  first  evening  of  our  arrival.  We 
went  out  between  the  acts  and  on   our  return  Billie 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  41 

wandered  down  the  isle  with  an  imlighted  cigar  in  his 
mouth.  We  were  not  sure  about  smoking,  but  felt 
more  or  less  safe,  as  a  person  may  smoke  almost  any- 
where in  Mexico.  We  had  scarcely  sat  down,  when  a 
gentleman  with  great  earnestness  of  manner  requested 
Billie  to  remove  his  cigar.  He  spoke  English  but 
Billie,  ever  ready  for  an  argument,  wanted  to  know 
why,  and  was  informed  that  should  he  smoke  he 
would  be  arrested,  and  ignorance  would  prove  of  no 
avail.  He  might  be  kept  in  prison  or  given  a  trial, 
as  the  authorities  deemed  best.  The  warning  and 
explanation  were  taken  with  thanks  and  we  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  gentleman,  who  happened  to  be  the 
manager  of  a  cotton  mill,  and  who  extended  to  us  an 
invitation  to  pay  it  a  visit. 

The  following  day  Billie  and  George  started  out 
to  get  a  carriage,  Dick  and  I  looking  around  and 
waiting  their  return.  When  we  got  back  to  the  hotel 
we  learned  that  they  had  secured  one,  but  not  finding 
us,  had  started  off  for  the  mill.  We  got  another  car- 
riage, one  I  think  that  had  been  used  in  the  procession 
at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  first  church 
in  Orizaba,  and  started  out  after  our  friends. 

The  road  was  up  hill,  and  the  "rocky  road"  to 
Dublin  was  a  bituminized  boulevard  compared  to  this, 
so  rough  indeed  was  the  road,  that  we  positively  made 
up  our  minds  that  we  would  get  spilled,  and  made  ar- 
rangements according  to  what  side  we  went  over 
on  as  to  how  we  would  act  so  as  to  preserve  our  lives ; 
but  we  arrived,  much  to  the  surprise  of  our  friends  and 
the  manager,  who  were  out  on  the  street  waiting  our 


42  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

coining'.  Finding:  it  difficult  to  get  there  by  carriage, 
they  had  dismissed  theirs  and  walked  making  much 
better  time  than  we  with  the  horses.  The  manager 
dismissed  our  conveyance  saying  that  he  would  not 
allow  us  to  try  to  get  back  down  hill  with  it,  but  would 
take  us  in  his  private  street  car  which  he  did  eventu- 
ally. 

The  factory  employs  about  three  hundred  men 
who  do  everything  from  the  reception  of  the  raw 
material  to  the  completion  of  the  finished  article.  The 
factory  is  an  English  concern  and  the  manager  in- 
formed us  that  he  would  not  allow  a  woman  to  work 
in  the  place.  After  we  had  been  initiated  into  all  the 
mysteries  of  cotton  manufacturing,  a  couple  of  mules 
were  hitched  onto  a  street  car  of  good  size  and  we 
were  driven  in  state  as  far  as  the  entrance  of  the  main 
street  beyond  which  private  street  cars  were  not  al- 
lowed to  go.  After  taking  a  snapshot  of  the  two-mule 
power  car  and  saying  "good-bye"  to  its  owner,  we  lit 
fresh  cigars  as  a  sort  of  thanksgiving  not  only  for  the 
pleasure  of  having  seen  the  cotton  mill,  but  also  for  the 
fortunate  circumstance  of  having  saved  Billie  from 
languishing  in  prison  for  violating  the  sancity  of  a 
Mexican  theatre  by  smoking  an  American  cigar. 

"We  took  in  the  many  attractions  of  the  town  and 
vicinity;  had  pointed  out  to  us  a  road  cut  by  the 
French  soldiers  from  which  they  had  bombarded  the 
town  and  where  they  defeated  the  Mexican  troops 
on  the  night  of  July  13th,  1862. 

Orizaba  was  a  favorite  resort  of  Maximilian  dur- 
ing his  short   reign   as   emperor,   and   one   could  not 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO     .  48 

blame  him  for  his  choice  if  the  place  and  people  were 
as  clean  then  as  now. 

The  brewery  of  Orizaba  is  quite  an  institution 
and  its  beer  is  as  celebrated  in  Mexico  as  is  that  of 
Milwaukee  in  the  United  States.  Orizaba,  with  its 
altitude  of  4,832  feet  above  Vera  Cruz,  and  its  eighty- 
two  miles  distance,  is  a  place  to  rest  and  recuperate; 
but  we  must  hurry  on,  so,  at  3:45  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  second  day  of  our  visit,  we  wheeled  our  way  out 
with  pleasant  memories  of  its  people  and  scenery. 

A  run  of  about  twenty  minutes  brings  to  view  a 
horseshoe  bend  of  immense  size,  curving  over  the 
waters  below.  The  Rio  Grande  can  be  seen  from 
another  point  close  by,  about  a  thousand  feet  below 
in  the  ravine. 

"We  went  up  grade  a  little  by  way  of  variety 
through  the  town  or  village  of  Fortin,  on  and  down 
through  fields  of  sugar  cane,  palm  and  palmetto,  coffee 
plantations,  orange  groves,  pineapple  and  bananas 
succeeded  each  other  or  mingled  together.  The  sight 
is  good  to  look  upon,  and  when  the  whistle  blows  and 
the  train  stops  at  Cordova  you  have  become  quite  en- 
chanted with  the  tropical  climate  and  its  products,  in- 
cluding the  picturesque  native  of  both  genders. 
VERA  CRUZ. 

A  short  stop  and  away  we  go  through  more  tun- 
nels and  plantations,  winding  in  and  out  and  up  and 
down.  We  finally  take  an  easy  grade  down  the  slope 
leading  into  Vera  Cruz,  at  which  place  we  arrived  at, 
7:35  p.  m.     We  had  been  told  the  hotel  to  put  up  at. 


44  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

and  soon  engaged  tAvo  carriages  or  victorias,  but  found 
we  could  not  get  our  hand  baggage  all  in.  We  were 
relieved  of  this  trouble,  however,  by  a  small  army 
of  cargadores.  Each  one  took  a  piece  of  baggage 
and  was  at  the  hotel  as  soon  as  the  carriages,  and  each 
demanded  fifty  cents  for  his  individual  piece.  They 
knew  we  were  tenderfeet,  so  we  paid  after  a  protest. 
It  was  only  twenty-five  cents  in  American  money,  but 
a  person  gets  awfully  stingy  when  in  a  country  cheaper 
than  his  own. 

We  soon  found  out  that  we  were  in  the  right 
town,  but  the  wrong  hotel,  for  after  seeing  our  rooms, 
we  had  a  shrewd  suspicion  that  we  were  not  at  the 
Palace  or  St.  Francis  in  San  Francisco,  and  after  din- 
ner our  suspicion  became  a  certainty.  We  looked 
around  town  and  located  a  good  looking  hotel  and 
made  up  our  minds  to  make  it  our  stopping  place  on 
our  return  trip. 

We  slept  better  than  we  anticipated,  but  were 
up  early  and  down  to  breakfast.  Mine  host  was  on 
hand.  He  looked  like  a  retired  pirate,  but  one  who 
might  go  back  into  business  if  necessity  required.  He 
spoke  English  in  a  most  villainous  manner  and  served 
his  meals  as  he  spoke.  We  wanted  oranges ;  he  would 
send  for  them  he  said;  he  did,  and  while  the  official 
whose  duty  it  was  to  purchase  fruit  at  the  market  was 
busy,  we  ordered  the  other  dishes.  About  the  time 
breakfast  was  cooked,  the  orange  official  returned 
with  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  fruit,  but  no  oranges. 

One  particular  fruit  or  vegetable  placed  before  us 
attracted  general  attention.     In  appearance  it  resem- 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  45 

bled  a  rough  skinned  Irish  potato  before  cooking.  We 
examined  it  but  were  at  a  loss  to  know  Avhether  to  cut 
it.  peel  it  or  bite  it.  We  decided  to  show  our  ignorance 
and  enquired.  Our  pirate  host  told  us  they  were 
zapotos ;  he  cut  one  in  halves  and  gave  us  a  tea  spoon. 
We  dug  into  the  meat  part  of  it  which  looked  some- 
thing like  the  inside  of  a  green  fig,  but  tasted  different. 
We  found  them  quite  palatable  and  ate  them  with  a 
relish.  Soft  boiled  eggs,  coffee  and  tortillas  complet- 
ed our  breakfast. 

Our  next  desire  was  to  see  the  town  and  procure 
steamer  tickets  for  Frontera.  After  some  enquiry  we 
found  the  ticket  office  and  proceeded  to  exchange  our 
limited  Spanish  for  their  lack  of  English,  in  our  en- 
deavor to  separate  ourselves  from  the  money  necessary 
to  get  passage  on  the  steamer  Tehauntepec.  After  a 
terrific  slaughter  of  both  languages  we  found  ourselves 
on  the  street  holding  on  to  a  piece  of  paper  telling  us 
all  about  ourselves  and  assuring  us  of  cabin  seis  and 
every  berth  therein  contained. 

We  then  started  to  take  in  the  town,  and  by  good 
luck,  met  with  two  gentlemen  from  Pittsburg  whose 
ac(iuaintance  we  had  made  on  the  train,  and  who  were 
also  on  their  way  to  Frontera.  One  of  the  Pittsbur- 
gcrs.  a  Mr.  Morrison,  had  a  firm  grip  on  the  language 
and  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  town,  so  he  was  of  great 
assistance  to  us  in  making  purchases  and  getting 
the  price  of  articles  down  to  almost  normal. 

A  pair  of  long  boots  that  the  store-keeper  wanted 
fifteen  dollars  for,  became  a  part  of  my  outfit  for  ten. 
We  made  other  necessary  purchases  on  the  same  basis 


46  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

and  devoted  the  balance  of  the  day  to  sight-seeing. 

The  plaza,  cigar  manufacturing,  the  docks,  the 
streets  and  the  buzzards,  are  the  chief  attractions. 

The  plaza,  in  the  midst  of  the  business  center  is 
good.  Under  its  trees  are  tables  and  seats  where  you 
may  rest  and  find  shelter  from  the  sun,  have  drinks 
and  cigars  or  sandvi^iehes  served,  but  it  is  wise  to  keep 
your  hand  on  the  sandwich,  if  you  have  one,  or  the 
buzzard  will  be  in  a  square  meal  at  your  expense. 
These  birds  are  the  scavengers  of  the  streets  and  are 
protected  by  law.  They  are  more  plentiful  in  the 
plaza  than  the  natives  and  have  less  regard  for  your 
comfort. 

The  principal  plaza  is  bounded  by  the  jail  on  one 
side,  and  the  portales  directly  opposite,  a  good  hotel 
and  business  stores  on  the  third  side,  and  a  church  on 
the  fourth;  from  these  points  radiate  the  business  life 
of  the  city. 

The  houses  in  this  immediate  neighborhood  are 
good  and  the  stores  of  like  character.  The  streets 
are  a  revelation  in  make  and  cleanliness,  a  new  sewer 
system  having  recently  been  established  and  the  streets 
bitumined.  All  this  was  done  because  the  Government 
demanded  it'  as  a  preventive  against  plague. 

Vera  Cruz  used  to  be  a  pest  hole  but  since  san- 
itary conditions  have  been  established  it  is  one  of 
the  healthiest  cities  in  the  country.  It  is  the  principal 
port  and  has  been  for  hundreds  of  years.  Formerly 
vessels  had  to  lay  outside  but  jetties  and  breakwaters 
have  been  constructed  and  vessels  can  now  come  up 
to  the  piers.     Vera  Cruz  is  also  the  home  of  the  Mex- 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  47 

icaii  cigar,  the  plant  being'  raised  in  large  quantities  in 
the  surrounding  country.  We  bought  them  and  smok- 
ed them  in  all  their  varied  sizes  and  prices.  They 
have  a  flavor  all  their  own  and  many  people  like  them. 
As  an  outdoor  cigar  they  fill  the  bill  but  a  half  dozen 
smokers  in  a  close  room  would  not  be  pleasant  com- 
pany for  a  person  not  an  inveterate  lover  of  the  weed. 

We  spent  the  evening  in  the  plaza  listening  to  the 
music  of  a  good  band  and  watching  the  never  ending 
procession  of  the  senors  and  senoritas  moving  around 
in  stately  grace  and  I  must  say  that  with  the  same 
number  of  people  in  a  like  resort  in  our  oavu  country 
the  degree  of  decorum  would  not  be  maintained  that 
can  be  witnessed  in  any  plaza  in  the  cities  of  Mexico. 

We  retired  to  our  hotel  pleased  with  the  thought 
that  it  was  to  be  our  last  night  in  this  substitute  for 
our  own  fireside. 

Next  morning  we  busied  ourselves  with  packing 
and  getting  ready  for  the  sea  trip  to  Frontera,  and 
about  two  in  the  afternoon  settled  up  Avith  our  pirate 
landlord,  who  had  an  extra  day  charged  to  our  ac- 
count. His  attention  being  called  to  the  calendar,  he 
climbed  down  very  gracefully  and  blamed  it  on  the 
bookkeeper. 

I  told  him  to  order  two  carriages  to  take  our 
traps  to  the  boat,  and  he  was  so  obliging  that  he 
went  after  them  himself,  but  returned  in  about  ten 
minutes  with  the  information  that  it  was  impossible. 
We  were  apparently  up  against  it,  so  to  speak,  but  the 
good  man  had  been  looking  after  our  welfare  for  the 
ten  cargadores  that  brousrht  our  things  to  the  hotel 


48  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

were  all  lined  up  in  the  hall  ready  to  carry  one  piece 
each  at  fifty  cents  per.  We  saw  his  little  game  and  I 
told  the  boys  to  get  onr  traps  down  and  I  would  look 
for  the  carriages.  I  went  to  the  plaza  and  returned 
in  less  than  five  minutes  with  them.  We  piled  our 
things  in  and  drove  off  leaving  the  pirate  chief  and 
his  crew  ready  to  hoist  the  black  flag,  and  warm 
though  the  day  Avas,  I  warrant  that  the  temperature 
around  that  hotel  went  up  several  degrees  in  the  next 
few  minutes. 

We  arrived  safely  at  the  Avharf  and  had  to  pile 
the  things  aboard  ourselves.  We  found  our  stateroom 
and  proceeded  to  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as 
circumstances  would  permit. 

The  Tehauntepec  is  a  steamer  of  about  1.100  tons. 
The  cabins  all  open  on  the  main  dining  room,  and  the 
berths  are  not  comfortable  looking.  Ours  consisted 
of  four  and  a  lounge. 

We  steamed  out  at  three,  but  for  some  reason  did 
not  get  beyond  the  breakwater  till  after  six.  The 
dinner  bell  rang  and  we  proceeded  to  the  dining  room 
in  which  were  twenty-eight  seats  around  the  table,  and 
apparently  a  passenger  for  each  seat.  The  table  was 
decorated  with  five  plates  in  front  of  each  seat,  one  on 
top  of  the  other  and  the  top  one  for  soup.  The  meal 
was  served  in  courses  and  as  each  course  was  finished 
a  plate  was  removed  and  when  the  last  one  was  taken 
up,  you  knew  you  had  dined,  though  they  put  on  some 
extra  frills  on  this  occasion  by  serving  a  fruit  plate 
with  bananas,  chicos,  zapatos  and  cheese.  I  partook 
of  all  the  dishes  served,  as  if  I  were  a  native,  the  soup 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  49 

first,  then  somethini;-  resembling  beef  stew  with  the 
necessary  hot  stuff;  fish  was  served  next,  after  which 
a  meat  dish  with  accessories.  Another  dish  of  con- 
glomerate, and  then  the  clean  plate,  fruit  and  cheese. 
Coffee  was  served  ad  lib.,  but  butter  was  an  unknown 
quantity. 

We  remained  on  deck  until  after  one  in  the  morn- 
ing as  the  air  was  moist  and  clammy,  which,  com- 
bined with  the  odor  of  the  dinner,  rendered  life  in  the 
cabin  anything  but  a  place  of  cold  storage. 

When  we  finall}^  decided  to  turn  in,  we  found 
that  Billie  had  ensconsed  himself  in  one  corner  of  the 
social  hall  above  the  dining  room,  and  was  loudly  pro- 
claiming his  entire  indifference  to  everything  on  land 
or  sea  through  the  medium  of  a  fully  developed  Amer- 
ican snore. 

George  selected  one  of  the  upper  berths  to  get 
away  from  the  rats ;  Dick  took  the  lounge  and  I  wrap- 
ped a  sheet  tightly  around  me  after  having  removed 
ray  coat  and  shoes  and  tried  to  be  comfortable  in  the 
lower  berth,  where  turning  over  from  one  side  to  the 
other  meant  scraping  my  nose  on  the  under  side  of  the 
upper  berth.  We  left  the  door  and  window  open,  and 
the  noise  wafted  across  the  dining  room  from  other 
open  doors  proclaimed  the  indifference  of  many  of 
the  passengers  to  rats  or  weather  conditions. 

The  morning  found  us  up  early,  but  not  the  first, 
as  was  evidenced  by  the  single  roller  towel  hung  up 
in  the  wash  room  above  two  basins.  The  basin  had 
seen  much  service  that  morning  and  the  towel  more.  I 
called  the  steward  and  on  request  ^vas  somewhat  sur- 


50  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

prised  to  get  a  clean  one.  I  used  one-half  of  it  and 
called  Dick  so  that  he  might  use  the  other  half  before 
some  native  got  his  face  in  first. 

The  morning  was  all  that  could  be  desired.  "We 
walked  around  till  about  eight  o'clock  when  I  went  to 
find  out  what  was  the  matter  with  breakfast.  The 
steward  informed  me  that  the  first  meal  served  would 
be  at  eleven  o'clock;  we  could  have  a  cup  of  coffee 
and  a  cracker  if  we  desired.  We  took  what  was  offer- 
ed and  at  eleven  a  meal  almost  the  counterpart  of  the 
evening  before  was  dished  up.  We  took  that  also  and 
it  was  our  last  meal  aboard,  as  we  sighted  land  at 
3 :30  p.  m.,  and  in  about  an  hour  had  the  pilot  on  board. 
He  took  us  over  the  bar  and  then  left  us  to  find  our 
way  up  the  river  alone,  a  distance  of  about  eight  miles. 
We  arrived  safely  and  at  6 :30  tied  up  at  the  wharf. 

PRONTERA. 

We  were  then  taken  in  tow  by  a  Chinaman,  Hop 
Wah,  and  piloted  up  town  to  the  Grand  Hotel  run  by 
the  aforesaid  Hop.  He  spoke  Spanish  fluently  I  sup- 
pose, but  had  not  gotten  beyond  the  "no  sabe"  in 
English. 

His  hotel  once  belonged  to  the  "Four  Hundred" 
and  Hop  was  proud  of  his  establishment,  which  con- 
sisted of  five  rooms  and  shower  bath  in  a  one-story 
adobe  building.  Each  room  had  its  special  interest  for 
Hop,  but  the  shower  bath  was  his  particular  pride,  as 
it  was  the  only  one  in  town.  It  Avas  a  dark  place 
about  six  feet  square  with  stone  walls  and  floor.  When 
you  wanted  to  use  it  a  lighted  candle  was  furnished 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  51 

which  you  placed  on  the  floor  or  stuck  against  the 
wall,  but  in  either  case,  when  the  water  was  turned 
on  the  candle  went  out.  But  this  was  of  little  con- 
sequence as  when  you  had  enough  you  let  go  the  string 
the  water  stops  and  you  make  a  break  for  the  door 
and  your  towel.  We  were  rather  amused  at  the  pride 
with  which  Hop  showed  this  treasure,  but  we  came  to 
appreciate  it  as  much  as  he  did,  for  we  found  occasion 
to  use  it  more  than  once  a  day. 

One  room  containing  four  beds  was  assigned  to 
our  party;  the  beds  were  cot-shaped  and  mosquito- 
netted,  stretched  canvas  for  a  mattress,  and  a  sheet  for 
a  covering,  but  the  xheet  was  superfluous  as  the  da^s 
were  hot  and  the  nights  more  so,  if  possible.  But 
with  all  the  inconveniences  we  liked  the  place  on  ac- 
count of  the  good  nature  of  Senor  Hop  Wah,  whose 
only  desire  was  to  please.  American  cooking  was 
practiced  in  this  establishment  and  that  in  itself  ac- 
counted for  our  Pittsburg  friends  recommending  it  to 
our  consideration. 

Frontera  is  a  town  of  from  one  to  six  thousand 
population,  depending  on  who  is  giving  you  the  in- 
formation. I  think  about  fifteen  hundred  nearer  the 
mark.  It  has  its  plaza  and  one  street  about  a  block 
from  the  water  front  and  paralleling  the  river.  The 
houses  are  the  usual  affairs  of  one  story,  except  on 
the  plaza  where  some  are  two  stories.  The  residence 
section  on  two  sides  of  the  square  is  neat  and  clean ; 
the  windows  and  doors  are  open  in  the  evening.  Music 
can  be  heard  in  many  of  these  homes,  but  the  mandolin 
or  guitar  is  noticeable  by  its  absence  for  the  crown- 


52  BITS    OF    OLD    MEICICO 

ing  glory  of  the  front  room  seems  to  be  a  piano,  where 
it  can  be  had. 

Fresh  vegetables  are  at  a  premium  in  this  place 
as  they  are  all  imported,  and  when  green  onions  can 
be  had  in  the  market,  they  are  sold  individually  and 
bring  quite  a  price.  So  much  are  they  prized,  indeed, 
that  when  a  person  has  partaken  of  them  at  dinner  he 
makes  a  point  of  getting  into  conversation  with  some- 
one whom  he  Avants  to  impress  with  his  riches.  He 
stands  close  up  so  that  the  smell  of  the  onion  may 
impress  the  other  with  his  financial  standing,  for  none 
but  a  millionaire  can  afford  the  luxury  of  a  green 
onion  breath. 

The  two  most  important  buildings  on  the  plaza  are 
the  church  and  market.  The  church  comes  first  in 
importance  in  all  Mexican  towns,  but  the  market  is  a 
close  second. 

Another  peculiarity  about  Frontera  that  I  found 
in  no  other  town  was  the  absence  of  tipping.  On  our 
first  evening,  we  in  company  with  the  Pittsburgers,  sat 
in  front  of  a  eantina  where  tables  and  chairs  are  set 
out.  We  had  beer  and  other  things  and  I  tipped  one 
of  the  waiters.  A  gentleman  who  knew  the  place  and 
its  customs  told  me  to  watch  and  see  what  the  waiter 
did  with  the  tip.  I  watched  and  he  went  with  the  bill 
and  tip  and  rang  the  whole  thing  up  on  the  cash  reg- 
ister. I  don't  know  how  the  custom  of  non-tipping 
started.  It  must  have  happened,  I  surmise,  that  once 
upon  a  time  a  waiter  fell  dead  when  given  a  tip,  and 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  58 

that  this  became  a  warning  to  all  others,  for  the  na- 
tive is  great  on  tradition  and  superstition. 

While  sitting  as  above  described,  we  were  ap- 
proached by  a  gentleman  who  turned  out  to  be  the 
captain  of  the  good  ship  Recrio  that  we  had  chartered 
to  take  us  up  the  river  to  El  Salto.  During  the  course 
of  the  conversation  he  informed  us  that  his  vessel  was 
28  feet  long,  six  and  a  half  feet  beam,  sixteen  liorse- 
power,  and  propelled  by  gasoline.  We  decided  to 
start  the  following  day,  Sunday.  The  distance  was 
180  miles  or  leagues — sometimes  it  was  leagues,  at 
other  times,  miles. 

Sundaj^  was  spent  victualing  the  ship  and  getting 
other  sundries  in  shape ;  the  crew  of  two  Mexican  boys 
were  on  shore  leave  and  when  it  came  time  to  up  an- 
chor the  entire  crew  was  absent  at  roll  call  and  it  took 
the  gallant  Captain  Van  Horn  till  eleven  at  night  to 
round  them  up. 

The  skipper  was  mad  clear  through  and  the  crew 
knew  it.  We  should  have  sailed  long  ere  this,  he  ex- 
plained to  us,  to  get  the  benefit  of  slack  water.  Any- 
how, we  got  away.  The  night  was  beautiful.  The 
moon  was  full.  The  river,  about  two  hundred  yards 
wide  with  thickly  wooded  lowland  on  either  side. 
Steamer  chairs  were  placed  amidships,  which  were  to 
act  as  seats  by  day  and  couch  by  night,  and  many 
leagues  had  been  sailed  before  our  chairs  became 
couches. 

Daylight  found  us  stirring  but  not  far.  The  prom- 
enade deck  did  not  compare  at  all  favorably  with 
many  of  the  ocean  liners  that  I  have  traveled  on.  The 


54  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

wash  room  was  arranged  on  the  port  side  of  the  engine 
house.  Its  equipment  consisted  of  a  tin  basin,  a  piece 
of  soap  wrapped  up  in  fibre,  a  towel  and  a  piece  of 
glass  tacked  up  against  the  frame  of  the  engine  house. 

The  toilet  making  was  not  so  much  a  question  of 
time  as  of  room.  We  took  turn  about  and  managed 
to  get  the  part  of  our  face  that  we  could  see  in  the 
glass  presentable  to  ourselves,  at  least,  after  which 
the  towel  was  washed  by  one-half  of  the  ship's  crew 
and  the  laundry  hung  up  to  dry. 

Speaking  of  the  crew,  I  have  just  completed  my 
inspection  and  have  discovered  their  duties  and  offi- 
cial stations.  The  crew,  generally  speaking,  numbers 
two,  all  told.  The  junior  officer  was  a  boy  of  about 
sixteen  barefooted  summers.  His  duties  consisted  of 
steering  and  dish-washing,  but  when  it  was  his  watch 
below  he  cleaned  the  lamp,  filled  the  oil  tank,  peeled 
potatoes  and  smoked  cigarettes. 

The  chief  officer  was  a  young  man  of  about 
twenty-two.  He  was  chief  engineer  and  cook;  he  also 
had  sundry  unofficial  duties  to  perform,  such  as  re- 
lieving the  helmsman,  swearing  at  the  junior  officer 
when  the  c^iptain  was  attending  to  something  else, 
sharpening  his  pocket  knife  and  polishing  a  sea  beau 
for  a  pendant  to  his  watch  chain  when  he  got  one. 

The  captain,  Van  Horn,  was  a  Yankee,  sir,  and 
didn't  care  if  all  the  greasers  in  the  country  knew  it. 
He  had  navigated  the  river  for  twenty  years  and  never 
took  water  from  anyone;  swore  fluently  in  both 
English  and  Spanish,  was  tall  and  thin  and  about 
fifty  years  of  age.     A  small  mustache  and  a  few  strag- 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  55 

gling  hairs  here  and  there  over  his  face  which  he 
shaved  at  the  end  of  each  voyage.  One  side  of  his 
mustache  was  pushed  somewhat  higher  up  than  the 
other,  and  whether  this  was  caused  by  wiping  his 
mouth  on  that  side  after  he  had  ejected  a  pint  of 
tobacco  juice,  or  from  habitual  swearing  at  the  crew, 
has  never  been  thoroughly  settled  in  my  mind.  He 
was  rough-looking  but  Avithal,  one  of  the  best  natured 
fellows  a  person  would  want  to  meet  under  like  cir- 
cumstances. His  duties  were  many,  even  outside  of 
standing  perpetual  watch  over  the  crew.  He  would 
cook,  chop  wood,  mix  fancy  dishes,  such  as  ham  and 
eggs,  frijoles,  tortillas,  chile  con  carne,  and  mystery 
(this  last  was  a  dish  composed  of  the  leavings  of  all  the 
above),  scientifically  proportioned  and  served  warm  to 
the  crew. 

The  captain  as  general  purveyor,  was  certainly 
not  niggardly,  for  he  dished  out  everything  that  he 
had  in  the  most  lavish  manner.  As  we  went  along  his 
eagle  eye  was  always  open  for  cocoanuts,  oranges,  or 
bananas,  and  he  would  run  ashore  and  buy  from  the 
natives  anything  of  this  kind  that  we  wished  for.  We 
acquired  quite  a  taste  for  the  milk  of  the  green  cocoa- 
nut.  Our  junior  officer  would  shin  up  the  tree  like  a 
monkey  for  a  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  to  the 
crotch  of  the  tree  where  the  nuts  grew  in  a  bunch  and 
throw  them  down.  The  captain  always  paid  for  them 
after  a  few  sincere  remarks  to  the  owner  about  what 
he  thought  of  the  price. 

We  landed  a  few  times  to  look  around  some  of  the 
settlements   and   found   the   people   good-natured   and 


56  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

apparently  happy.  The  men  were  dressed  decollette 
from  the  feet  up  and  the  women  from  the  head  do^vn, 
but  the  men's  high  up  pants  and  the  women's  low 
down  dresses  were  light  and  clean.  Their  houses 
of  bamboo  walls  and  thatch  roofs  were  ideal  for  the 
climate.  Earthern  floors,  cane  beds,  some  dogs  and 
more  children,  constitute  a  household  on  the  banks  of 
the  Grijalva  or  Chiapas. 

The  scenery  along  the  river  bank  was  one  con- 
tinuous stretch  of  tropical  fruit  and  huts.  Our  life 
aboard  was  also  tropical,  the  mosquito  causing  the 
language  to  be  torrid  as  the  climate. 

We  arrived  at  Tipititan  about  six  in  the  evening. 
We  were  to  stop  here  all  night  and  sleep  ashore.  The 
place  consists  of  a  church  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
river;  beyond  the  church  a  general  store,  a  street  more 
or  less  defined,  running  parallel  with  the  river  with 
houses  or  huts  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other.  In 
all  about  twenty  or  so.  The  hotel  is  a  stone  and  adobe 
affair  of  one  large  room  with  four  doors — ^no  windows 
for  light,  so  that  Avhen  you  shut  the  door  at  night  it 
becomes   solitary    confinement. 

The  owner  of  this  place  was  sent  for  by  the  cap- 
tain. He  soon  appeared,  and  in  a  few  minutes  had 
four  beds  placed  in  the  room.  They  were  cot  affairs 
and  were  only  brought  in  and  put  up  as  travel  re- 
quired. 

The  mosquito  netting  having  been  adjusted,  the 
landlord  enquired  of  the  captain  if  we  would  sup  at 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  57 

his  house  or  aboard.  We  were  consulted  and  voted 
for  shore  delicacies.  The  native  led  the  way  doAvn  the 
street  and  we  were  soon  in  his  home. 

The  meal  was  served ;  it  consisted  of  f rijoles  and 
a  dish  that  I  was  imal)le  to  find  a  name  for.  It  tasted 
like  eoeoanut  chopped  np  fine  with  hard  boiled  eggs. 
beans  and  river  sand.  Anyhow.  I  only  tasted  of  it 
and  contented  myself  with  coffee  and  tortillas. 

I  tried  to  settle  with  our  host  for  the  meal  but 
couldn't  find  out  how  much  he  wanted;  he  talked  too 
rapidly  for  us,  so  Ave  took  him  to  the  boat  and  the 
captain;  he  explained  that  the  beds  were  fifty  cents 
each  and  the  meals  as  we  liked.  I  asked  him  if  four 
dollars  would  satisfy  him  for  all  and  he  was  more  than 
pleased.  This  meant  two  dollars  American  for  the 
accommodation  of  four. 

"We  Avandered  over  to  the  store  and  the  oAvner  saAv 
us  coming,  for  the  price  of  everything  advanced  about 
one  hundred  per  cent.  We  ordered  beer  and  paid  his 
price,  but  that  Avas  the  last  transaction  Ave  had  with 
him,  for  had  he  sold  us  a  dozen  pints  at  the  price  he 
wanted,  he  could  have  retired  and  loaned  money  to 
the  balance  of  the  natives,  or  taken  a  trip  to  El  Salto 
at  the  head  of  navigation. 

The  night  A\^as  perfect  as  only  night  can  be  in 
this  region.  I  saAv  the  Southern  cross  for  the  first 
time;  watched  it  rise  above  the  horizon,  the  stars 
not  forming  a  true  cross  till  about  one  or  tAvo  in  the 
morning,  when  it  seemed  to  be  in  an  upright  position 
and  was  certainly  a  thing  of  beauty.  About  two  a.  m. 
I  invaded  the  gloom.     My  friends  had  retired  earlier. 


58  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

I  lit  the  candle  and  proceeded  to  inspect  my  bed  bj^ 
pulling  the  mosquito  netting  open.  The  grass  matting 
that  took  the  place  of  canvas  in  the  cot  smelled  to 
heaven.  The  perspiration  of  twenty  tribes  of  wander- 
ing nomads  was  concentrated  in  every  mesh  and  fibre 
of  its  composition. 

I  had  alcohol  and  camphor  in  a  bottle  which  I 
carried  for  rubbing  on  mosquito  and  other  bites.  I 
poured  about  half  the  contents  on  the  bed  hoping  to 
quiet  the  noiseome  smell.  I  spread  the  sheet-like  cov- 
ering over  the  thing,  and  blowing  out  the  candle, 
without  a  thought  of  my  soul,  bestowed  all  my 
thoughts  and  mj'  body  to  the  keeping  of  my  perfumed 
bed,  the  mosquitos  and  utter  darkness.  The  fumes 
of  the  alcohol  must  have  had  a  soothing  effect  for 
when  I  awoke  it  was  to  find  the  light  coming  in 
through  all  the  doors,  and  Billie  and  George  in  a  heat- 
ed argument  about  the  age  of  the  church  just  beyond. 

I  hastily  made  my  toilet;  there  was  water  and  a 
basin  but  neither  soap  nor  towel  but  fortunately  we 
had  these  with  us.  When  I  got  outside  I  found  Dick 
in  the  mysteries  of  a  Tipititan  sawmill.  It  consisted 
of  four  upright  posts  and  crossbars,  on  top  of  which 
rested  a  log.'  How  it  got  there  I  did  not  find  out.  The 
log  was  Spanish  cedar  or  mahogany  and  squared.  The 
number  of  planks  or  boards  to  be  sawed  was  marked 
off  all  the  way  along  on  top  and  bottom.  One  man 
stands  on  top  and  one  below,  and  with  a  double-handed 
saw,  cuts  it  into  the  required  thickness.  This  is  the 
method    employed   in    all   small    settlements. 

We  unanimously  agreed  that  breakfast  should  be 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  59 

served  on  board  and  so  informed  the  captain  who  had 
come  up  the  hill  to  find  out  how  we  had  slept.  The 
crew  packed  our  things  to  the  boat  and  we  started  on 
our  way  while  breakfast  was  being  prepared  by  the 
chief  engineer.  We  all  enjoyed  our  morning  meal 
and  settled  down  to  our  steady  employmtnt  of  mos- 
quito fighting.  The  New  Jersey  product  may  have 
been  all  right  in  its  day  but  the  finished  article  as  we 
found  it  is  none  of  your  weakling  transplanted  sting- 
ers, but  the  real  vampire  of  Old  Mexico,  still  retain- 
ing the  blood  of  the  Montezumas  which  was  mixed 
very  liberally  with  ours,  and  while,  no  doubt,  it  should 
have  been  considered  a  great  honor  we  protested 
against  the  medium  through  which  the  fusion  took 
place.  So  large  are  the  mosqiiitos  on  the  river  Ton- 
ola,  which  we  branched  into  about  noon,  that  we  im- 
agined we  could  see  them  wink  the  other  eye  as  we 
made  a  swat  at  one  and  missed. 

About  four  o'clock  we  landed  at  a  place  called 
Santa  Cruz  Bueno  Vista  to  get  eggs  and  give  us  an 
opportunity  to  stretch  our  legs  and  have  a  change  in 
the  brand  of  mosquitos.  The  population  at  this  place 
is  exactly  sixty-two  according  to  the  statement  made 
by  the  oldest  inhabitant,  and  I  believe  him,  for  T  think 
most  of  them  were  present.  The  children  were  in  the 
majority. 

A  custom  prevails  among  the  natives  in  this  part 
of  the  countr.y  of  putting  the  children  into  clothes  at 
a  certain  age  but  most  of  them  we  saAv  were  minors. 
and  consequently  had  not  been  dressed  in  their  coming 
out  raiment.     We  had  them  lined  up  and  photograph- 


60  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

ed.  We  also  took  groups  of  the  grown-ups  and  were 
invited  in  and  inspected  their  homes,  which  were  ap- 
parently well  kept.  They  were  a  happy,  contented 
looking  people,  and  when  we  returned  to  the  boat 
the  entire  colony  assembled  on  the  bank  and  "adios 
amigos"  could  be  heard  and  the  waving  of  their 
hands  could  be  seen  till  we  turned  a  bend  in  the  river. 
A  great  fandango  wnU  be  held  tonight  in  their  en- 
deavor to  spend  the  money  given  to  the  youngsters 
by  the  Americanos. 

The  scenery  continued  good  on  either  side  of  the 
river,  the  banks  never  rising  higher  than  twenty  feet 
at  any  point. 

We  met  many  natives  in  their  dug-outs,  and  it  was 
marvelous  hcnv  they  managed  them  and  the  loads  they 
carried. 

About  6 :30  in  the  evening  our  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  the  yelling  of  a  couple  of  natives  on  our 
starboard  bow  (I  think  that  is  nautically  correct). 
They  were  so  earnest  in  their  yells  and  gestures  that  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  something  terrible  had 
happened  in  the  river  beloAv,  but  when  our  captain 
shot  a  few  blank  phrases  across  their  bow,  we  brought 
about  and  after  exchanging  signals,  the  captain  or- 
dered the  course  changed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  had 
swung  into  a  little  basin  and  a  landing  where  we  found 
assembled  waiting  for  us  our  agent  and  the  owner  of 
a  plantation  where  we  were  to  spend  the  night. 

After  introductions  Ave  ascended  the  hill  to  a 
house  overlooking  the  river.  It  was  prettily  situated 
and  contained  large  comfortable  furnished  rooms,  in- 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  61 

eluding  a  dining  room  into  which  we  were  ushered, 
and  immediately  proceeded  to  feel  very  much  at  home 
in  the  enjoyment  of  what  I  considered  the  best  meal 
we  had  since  our  advent  into  Mexico.  The  cooking  was 
American,  or  more  properly  speaking.  English,  for  Mr. 
Markley  was  English — decidedly  so — and  an  excellent 
host. 

The  evening  was  spent  very  pleasantly.  We  all 
smoked,  which  seemed  to  have  a  discouraging  effect 
on  the  mosquito  delegation  that  waited  on  us  in  the 
hope  of  cultivating  an  international  entente  and  wiping 
out  all  racial  differences  to  the  end  that  we  might  re- 
ceive the  same  distinguished  consideration  as  citizens 
of  the  most  favored  nations.  This  diplomatic  condi 
tion  of  affairs  lasted  only  while  we  smoked  the  pipe 
of  peace,  for  when  we  retired  we  found  that  the  polite 
mosquito  delegate  of  the  sitting  room  had  put  the 
whole  union  on  to  where  we  were  supposed  to  sleep, 
and  instead  of  proclaiming  a  boycott  on  us  proceeded 
in  initiate  us  into  the  mysteries  of  interdependence,  or 
how  one  is  dependent  on  the  other  for  most  of  the 
necessities  of  life  and  all  the  luxuries.  The  ceremony 
was  one-sided  and  long-winded  and  consisted  chiefly 
of  music  and  sting.  The  song  of  the  mosquito  attracts 
the  attention  of  all  the  finer  hearing  faculties  better 
than  that  of  any  other  winged  songster  I  can  recall. 
With  hand  upraised  and  ears  strained  to  the  finest 
tension  yoa  wait,  knowing  that  the  end  of  the  song 
means  the  beginning  of  operations.  The  sensation  of 
a  downy  caress  on  the  cheek  or  forehead  is  followed 
by  a  contraction  of  the  muscles  of  the  fore-arm.  vour 


62  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

hand  and  face  come  in  contact.  Perhaps  you  have 
killed  a  mosquito;  if  not,  the  tantalizing  music  is  re- 
sumed and  the  rise  and  fall  of  each  note  seems  to  leave 
an  angered  disappointment  and  the  only  word  in  your 
vocabulary  available  that  comes  to  your  mind,  outside 
of  unprintable  matter  is  the  word  "stung."  Thus  the 
game  goes  on  till  the  mosquito  wearies  of  the  game,  or 
becomes  so  tired  of  the  blood  relationship  that  it  must 
need  take  a  rest  itself,  for  as  the  blood  of  the  human 
being  is  to  the  mosquito  an  intoxicant,  it  has  by  this 
time  acquired  an  elegant  jag,  everyone  becomes  happy 
and  you  sink  to  sleep  like  the  mosquito  without  reck- 
oning on  the  pain  that  tomorrow  has  in  store. 

Next  morning  we  were  up  early  and  had  a  break- 
fast that  we  had  anticipated  in  our  dreams.  It  was  all 
that  could  be  desired  and  we  did  it  justice,  as  it  would 
be  a  memory,  and  its  equal  far  ahead  in  anticipation. 

Mr.  Markley  showed  us  over  his  plantation  the 
products  of  which  were  varied.  Coffee,  bananas, 
vanilla  and  practically  all  the  fruits  of  a  tropical 
country,  but  time  and  our  mule  drivers  were  calling, 
so  we  proceeded  to  the  boat,  and  after  good-bys  to  our 
host  were  soon  on  our  way  across  the  river  where 
saddle  horses  and  mules  awaited.  In  the  meantime, 
the  captain  was  to  take  our  good  ship  the  "Recrio"  to 
El  Salto  and  wait  for  orders. 

ON  THE  ROAD. 

Mr.  Branchley  our  agent  assigned  us  to  the  land 
craft  according  to  build.  I  drcAv  a  horse  with  a  Mexi- 
can saddle  into  which  I  fitted  fore  and  aft  with  such 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  63 

exact  nicety  that  once  inserted  the  horse  would  have 
to  stand  on  his  hind  legs  and  a  pry  used  before  we 
could  have  been  separated.  George  got  a  horse  with 
an  English  saddle;  Dick  and  Billie  got  mules  and 
Mexican  saddles,  two  pack  mules  and  two  Mexican 
guides  for  servants,  mounted,  completed  the  outfit. 
The  word  was  given  and  we  were  off  on  a  twenty-five 
mile  ride  to  the  finca  or  plantation  of  San  Carlos. 

In  the  course  of  about  half  an  hour  I  discovered 
that  whoever  owned  the  saddle  that  I  belonged  to,  had 
artistic  propensities,  for  the  pommel  was  decorated 
with  a  round  metal  button  somewhat  larger  than  a 
dollar,  and  when  trotting  became  the  command  the 
aforesaid  metal  button  cultivated  such  an  intimate 
association  Avith  my  abdomen  that  I  became  painfully 
aware  of  its  presence.  T  mean  the  metal  button  or  on 
second  thought,   both. 

We  were  traveling  in  single  file  as  the  road  was 
only  a  trail.  It  led  through  forest  and  shade  or  bare 
spots  and  blazing  sun,  over  swale  land,  and  corduroy 
made  passage  way  over  the  frail  bridges,  where  one 
at  a  time  was  the  rule.  doAvn  arroyas  and  up  hills. 
We  finally  brought  up  at  a  plantation  known  as  the 
Mahaguey.  where  we  were  detained,  through  the  de- 
sire of  George's  horse  to  explore  the  interior  of  the 
stable  and  which  resulted  in  him  getting  his  ankle 
badly  sprained.  We  had  now  been  out  two  hours  and 
bad  accomplished  some  four  miles.  A  drink  of  water 
and  cinching  more  tightly  our  belts  and  the  horses' 
girths,  we  plodded  on  our  way.  and  in  the  course  of  an 
hour  or  so  arrived  at  the  plantation.  Pilidelfi.  presided 


64  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

over  by  a  young  American  named  Diissell,  who  gave 
us  a  hearty  welcome  and  bottled  beer,  which,  for  the 
time  being,  made  us  forget  our  present  misery  and  the 
distance  ahead. 

A  respite  of  about  half  an  hour,  and  I  was  again 
fitted  into  the  saddle  of  which  I  was  rapidly  becom- 
ing a  part.  Billie's  horse  by  this  time  had  developed 
a  strong  desire  to  feed  on  anything  in  the  shape  of 
vegatation,  and  Dick's  a  disregard  for  the  switch 
that  was  to  mark  their  peculiarities  during  the  whole 
trip.  George's  foot  had  become  swollen  and  painful, 
which,  added  to  the  smallness  of  the  stirrup,  caused 
him  all  sorts  of  annoyance. 

My  horse  was  a  good  goer  and  my  only  trouble 
was  the  fit  of  the  saddle.  The  sun  got  higher  and  so 
did  the  temperature.  The  perspiration  about  this 
time  had  found  its  way  through  our  khaki  clothing, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  forei^t.  if  it  had  any.  was  lost 
in  the  close  attention  required  to  keep  the  animals 
on  the  straight  and  narrow  path.  Conversation  ceas- 
ed to  be  A'ery  edifying,  and  became  snappy  and  ad- 
dressed to  no  one  in  imrtieular;  still  it  was  emphatic 
enough  at  times,  especially  v>hei)  a  horse  stumbled,  or 
an  insistent  mosquito  presented  its  little  bill. 

A  stop  was  made  once  in  a  while,  when  we  would 
reach  a  shade  tree  after  being  blistered  by  the  sun,  or 
when  something  went  wrong  with  the  pack  mules. 

Between  tAvelve  and  one  we  arrived  at  the 
"Iowa,"  another  plantation  managed  by  a  Russ-Ger- 
man,  by  the  name  of  Schmidt.     We  had  been  expected. 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  65 

and  the  reception  Ave  received  was  hearty  and  whole- 
souled. 

Mr.  Schmidt  was  an  ideal  host,  and  the  luxuries 
spread  before  us  for  lunch  were  marvelous,  considering 
the  location.  We  had  fresh  mutton,  potatoes,  butter 
and  cream.  Then  there  was  beer  and  cigars  on  the 
veranda,  and  to  cap  the  climax  a  servant  placed  glasses 
on  a  small  table,  and  wonder  of  wonders,  started  to 
open  champagne. 

Our  coming  and  Mr.  Schmidt's  birthday  happen- 
ing on  the  same  day  seems  to  have  been  the  cause  of  all 
the  reckless  extravagance  and  was  ijot  to  be  considered 
an  every  day  occurrence,  although  it  could  happen 
twice  a  year  as  Mr.  Schmidt  explained,  he  having  been 
born  in  Russian  territory  and  the  Russian  and  German 
calendar  not  working  on  the  same  schedule,  gave  him 
two  birthdays  in  the  same  year.  T  don't  remember 
when  his  next  birthday  occurs,  but  I  do  know  that  I 
could  have  wished  it  Avere  tomorrow  and  T  invited  to 
remain  and  help  celebrate. 

This  finca  is  in  a  very  advanced  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  rubber  trees  are  many  years  old  and  pro- 
ducing well,  and  I  sighed  to  think  that  ours  was  sit- 
uated so  far  away,  and  wondered  at  the  inconsistency 
of  providence  in  not  placing  it  somewhere  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity. 

My  reverie  was  rudely  disturbed  by  the  announce- 
ment that  the  animals  w^ere  saddled  and  ready.  I  had 
my  horse  brought  around  where  I  could  mount  it  from 
an  old  log.  George  had  to  be  assisted  to  his  saddle, 
his    foot    having    become  so  painful    that    he    could 


66  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

scarcely  walk.  Billie  and  Dick  were  hypocrites  enough 
to  make  believe  that  they  felt  all  right  but  the  gin- 
gerly manner  in  which  they  took  their  seats  belied 
their  affected  indifference. 

We  had  now  some  ten  miles  ahead  of  us  and  not 
a  single  stopping  place  to  look  forward  to  before  we 
reached  the  San  Francisco,  which,  we  were  told  we 
would  pass  through  some  four  hundred  yards  this  side 
of  our  destination. 

We  thanked  our  host  for  his  entertainment  and 
never  were  thanks  more  truly  spoken,  for  if  ever  there 
was  a  lifesaving  station,  the  tinea  of  Iowa  and  its  gen- 
ial manager  filled  the  bill. 

We  trudged  along  much  as  we  had  done  hereto- 
fore; Dick's  switch  having  become  a  stick,  and  Billie 's 
remarks  about  his  mount  and  things  in  general  kept 
pace  with  the  torrid  condition  of  the  climate.  Poor 
George,  remembering  his  early  bringing  up,  tried  to 
suppress  his  feelings,  except  on  occassions  when  his 
foot  would  get  caught  in  trailing  vines  or  brush;  then 
nature  would  assert  itself,  and  George  would  have 
been  sent  home  from  his  Sunday  school  had  he  used 
the  same  kind  of  language  to  his  teacher  that  he  did 
to  his  horse.  It  is  unnecessary  to  record  the  fact  that 
I  suffered  in  silence,  remembering  the  uncertainty  of 
life  and  the  belief  in  a  great  hereafter — but  why  go 
through  it  all  over  again.  Everything  has  an  end, 
although  at  times  ours  seemed  more  certain  than  the 
journey. 

In  the  course  of  time,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  we  entered  a  clearing;  then  the  rubber  trees. 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  67 

and  soon  brought  up  .i1  tln'  heackiiuirtt'rs  of  the  planta- 
tion San  Francisco,  beyond  which  could  be  seen  our 
own  headquarters.  But  we  must  vest  and  get  refresh- 
ed before  ai tempting'  even  the  short  distance  that  in- 
tervened, as  the  sight  of  a  human  habitation  was  too 
much  to  pass.  The  manager  was  there  to  welcome  us; 
his  men  took  charge  of  our  hoi-ses  and  traps  after  we 
had  separated  ourselve;-:  from  the  saddle,  and  I  must 
say  I  never  was  so  intimately  associated  with  one  be- 
fore and  never  so  glad  to  dissolve  partnership.  When 
I  alighted  <fr  rather  when  T  slid  down.  T  held  onto  the 
horse  for  a  minute,  as  my  legs  could  scarcely  support 
my  body.  I  then  hobbled  to  a  seat  and  prayed  for  the 
privilege  of  standing.  I  lay  down  at  full  length  on  my 
back,  but  was  reminded  in  spots  of  the  saddle.  T 
turned  over  and  was  then  reminded  of  the  pommel. 
I  finally  got  on  my  feet  and  got  my  legs  in  motion, 
and  after  taking  a  few  turns  around  the  veranda,  was 
able  to  ask  for  a  glass  of  water. 

This  practically  describes  the  feeling  of  the  whole 
party  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Branchley,  who  is 
used  to  that  sort  of  thing.  George,  perhaps,  suffered 
more  than  any  one  else  and  had  to  be  carried  to  a 
seat,  his  foot  having  become  so  sw^ollen  and  painful 
that  he  could  not  put  it  on  the  ground  without  great 
pain.  We  took  off  his  shoe  and  bandaged  him  as  best 
we  could,  and  left  him  there  for  the  night  as  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  go  even  the  short  distance  to  our 
headquarters.  We  sent  our  horses  ahead  and  walked, 
as  the  thoughts  of  the  saddle  conjured  up  unpleasant 
feelings. 


68  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

THE  PINCA. 

Our  place,  or  as  it  is  known,  the  "St.  Carlos" 
headquarters,  is  about  three  hundred  yards  from  that 
of  the  San  Francisco,  down  hill  half  way  and  up  hill 
the  balance.  The  house  itself  is  picturesque,  and  I 
would  let  it  go  at  that,  but  candor  compels  me  to  rob  it 
of  some  of  its  glory.  It  sits  or  stands  on  a  little  knoll 
facing  North ;  on  the  South  is  the  forest ;  on  the  East, 
the  Rio  Meshole  and  the  plantation ;  the  West  the  spac^; 
separating  us  from  our  neighbor.  The  house  has  two 
front  rooms,  one  on  either  side  of  the  hall,  which  leads 
into  one  large  room  or  back  porch,  as  it  is  open  on 
the  side,  at  the  West  end  of  which  is  the  fire  place, 
the  usual  Mexican  affair  about  two  feet  six  inches 
from  the  floor  of  stones  and  dirt,  flat  on  top.  and 
three  or  four  feet  square.  The  fire  is  built  either  of 
wood  or  charcoal,  depending  on  which  you  have.  It 
was  wood  in  this  case. 

Pots  and  pans  are  propped  up  on  stones.  There 
is  no  flue,  the  smoke  finding  its  way  anywhere  the  wind 
blows  it;  and  by  the  way,  our  fireplace  was  about  as 
respectable  as  the  average,  for  Mexico  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  not  having  a  chimney  in  the  country,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  town  of  Real  del  Monte. 

Our  house  had  walls  of  bamboo  about  ten  feet 
high  and  from  one  to  two  inches  thick.  The  air  had 
free  access  between  the  bamboo  poles  which  were 
laced  together  with  some  vegetable  fibre.  At  the  top 
was  a  frame-work  of  wood  to  which  the  outside  walls 
were  attached.  The  roof  was  very  steep  in  pitch  and 
thatched    with    the    leaf    of    the    guano    plant,    and 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  6!) 

over  a  foot  thick.  It  ran  down  on  a  light  frame-work 
over  what  was  intended  to  be  a  veranda  some  day. 
but  which  at  present  was  the  ground,  enclosed  by  a 
bamboo  fence. 

The  furniture  had  better  be  left  to  the  imagina- 
tion. Suffice  it  to  say  that  at  meal  time  we  had  suffi- 
cient dishes  and  plates  for  the  menu  and  at  night  a 
cot  each  in  which  to  sleep,  but  should  one  of  the  family 
of  eats  get  after  any  of  the  colony  of  rats  in  the  roof, 
then  all  was  not  peace  and  sleep.  This  happened  on 
our  first  night. 

Dick  and  I  had  retired  and  thought  when  we  clos- 
ed the  mosquito  netting  which  canopied  the  cots  that  it 
would  require  Gabriel's  trumpet  to  wake  us  when  once 
asleep.  Mr.  Branchley  occupied  the  room  across  the 
hall  and  had  been  carrying  on  a  conversation  with  us 
while  we  were  preparing  to  retire.  A  lull  in  the  con- 
versation was  followed  by  a  noise  of  something  falling, 
accompanied  by  squealing,  and  most  unearthly  yelling 
on  the  part  of  Branchley.  We  thought  he  had  been 
attacked  by  some  wild  animal  or  reptile  and  hastened 
to  his  room  to  find  a  large  cat  with  a  rat  about  half  as 
big  as  itself,  and  at  first  it  was  impossible  to  tell  which 
one  had  the  other.  The  cat  was  growling,  if  a  cat 
can  growl  and  the  rat  was  squealing.  The  question  of 
possession  was  soon  settled  when  the  cat  made  a 
spring  up  one  of  the  posts  of  the  house  with  the  rat 
and  disappeared  in  the  thatch  of  the  roof.  When 
Branchley  regained  his  composure,  he  explained  that 
just  as  he  was  about  to  get  into  bed  the  rat  jumped 
from  the  roof  on  top  of  his  mosquito  canopy,  and  from 


70  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

there  to  his  shoulder,  the  cat  following  from  the  roof 
taking  the  same  course  and  catching  the  rat  in  the  far 
corner  of  the  room. 

After  the  excitement  had  somewhat  abated  we  re- 
turned to  our  room,  and  wished  that  the  canopy  cov- 
ering our  beds  had  been  made  stronger;  but,  as  the 
floor  was  about  as  dangerous,  we  made  the  best  of  it 
and  again  crawled  into  bed. 

The  following  morning  found  us,  if  possible,  more 
tired  and  sore,  but  we  were  scheduled  to  look  over 
part  of  the  plantation,  so  we  dressed  and  after  making 
breakfast  on  eggs  and  tortillas,  went  over  to  find  out 
how  George  was  getting  along,  and  also  to  pick  up 
Billie  who  had  remained  to  take  care  of  him.  We 
found  George  not  able  to  get  up,  and  Billie,  like  our- 
selves, sore  in  mind,  body  and  estate,  but  off  we  start- 
ed, leaving  George  in  the  care  of  some  of  the  natives. 

We  tramped  up  hill  and  down,  through  under- 
brush— sometimes  on  a  trail,  but  most  of  the  time  by 
direction.  We  visited  the  trees  of  different  growth, 
the  places  cleared  for  planting  and  places  to  be  clear- 
ed, till  the  sun  became  so  hot  that  we  were  compelled 
to  make  for- the  headquarters,  where  we  arrived  more 
dead  than  alive,  our  interest  in  rubber  for  the  time 
being  having  oozed  out  of  us  at  every  pore  of  our 
bodies. 

We  rested  the  remainder  of  the  day  and  in  the 
evening  were  so  far  recovered  that  we  listened  to 
Branchley,  telling  us  how  it  happened,  and  there.by 
gained  a  fund  of  information  on  the  cultivation  of 
rubber. 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  71 

RUBBER. 

It  seems  that  rubber  was  first  brought  to  notice 
something  over  five  hundred  years  ago  by  one  Her- 
rera  who  noticed  that  the  natives  of  Hayti  played  a 
game  with  rubber  balls  made  from  the  gum  of  a  tree; 
then  it  is  noticed  in  Mexico  in  the  17th  century,  where 
the  natives  collected  the  milk-like  gum  and  smeared 
it  on  the  body  and  rubbed  it  off  when  dry.  Since  then 
it  has  been  found  in  many  countries  in  a  belt  extending 
some  500  miles  on  either  side  of  the  equator. 

The  19th  century,  however,  saw  the  first  real 
interest  in  the  manufacture  of  the  product  of  the  rub- 
ber tree  and  the  demand  so  great  that  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time  the  supply  has  never  equalled  the  demand. 
This  condition  of  affairs  is  responsible  for  the  planting 
of  the  trees  in  countries  where  soil  and  climatic  condi- 
tions show  the  best  result.  The  Para  rubber  of  South 
America  has  always  been  considered  the  best.  Cen- 
tral America  sends  a  good  quality  from  Guatemala 
and  the  South  of  Mexico  has  lately  shown  that  an  ex- 
cellent article  is  cultivated  over  a  wide  territory  in 
that  country. 

The  Mexican  rubber  tree  is  grown  from  a  seed  of 
small  oblong  shape  planted  in  the  ground  about  two 
inches  deep  and  ten  feet  apart,  and  attains  commercial 
growth  in  from  five  to  seven  years,  depending  on  loca- 
tion. The  principal  labor  in  caring  for  the  trees  be- 
tween the  planting  and  tapping  time  consists  of  keep- 
ing  down   the   undergrowth    for   the   first   two   years 


72  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

and  preventing"  creeping  vines  from  entwining  them- 
selves around  the  young  plant  and  choking  it. 

Sometimes  a  nursery  is  planted  and  after  one  or 
more  years  the  young  tree  is  transplanted,  but  it 
seems  the  seed  gives  the  best  results,  as  quite  a  loss  is 
sustained  through  transplanting. 

The  Mexican  variety  does  not  grow  as  large  as  the 
Para,  but  is  still  a  good  size,  running  from  eight  inches 
to  one  or  two  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  twenty  to 
fifty  feet  high.  The  leaf  is  large,  tapering  at  both 
ends,  from  five  to  seven  inches  across  at  the  widest 
and  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  long. 

When  the  tree  is  ready  for  tapping  a  knife  Avith 
an  adjustable  tongue  or  blade  regulated  by  a  screw,  is 
set  for  the  depth  of  cut  required ;  the  tapper  then  pro- 
ceeds to  make  one  long  cut  or  score  straight  down  the 
tree  from  below  the  branches  to  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  ground.  He  then  cuts  from  the  back  of  the  tree 
a  groove  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees 
and  ending  in  the  perpendicular  cut,  continuing  these 
cuts  at  a  distance  of  about  eight  inches.  This  opera- 
tion is  repeated  on  the  other  side,  the  scorings  on  the 
back  of  the  tree  overlapping  each  other  about  an  inch 
or  so.  The  cut  or  score  is  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
wide  and  the  depth  according  to  the  thickness  of  the 
bark. 

A  tree  can  be  injured  and  the  rubber  spoiled  in 
quality  by  wrong  tapping,  the  milk  or  rubber  flow 
comes  from  under  the  first  bark,  and  should  the  sec- 
ond or  delicate  covering  of  the  tree  be  penetrated  a 
black  gum  is  exuded  that  spoils  the  rubber  and  saps 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  73 

the  life  of  the  tree.  A  cup  is  adjusted  to  the  bottom  of 
the  upright  cut  for  the  reception  of  the  milk.  When 
the  flow  has  ceased,  the  rubber  that  has  hardened  in 
the  cut  is  peeled  off  and  this  is  the  end  of  its  yielding 
for  six  months.  The  first  year's  tapping  will  give  an 
average  of  four  ounces  per  tree;  the  second  year's  tap- 
ping, about  a  pound;  the  third,  three-quarters,  and  the 
fourth  and  subsequent  years,  one  pound,  or  more,  and 
the  life  of  its  productiveness  has  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined. 

Rubber  cultivation,  like  gold-mining,  has  its  little 
difficulties.  The  high  grader  of  the  gold  mine  has  his 
counterpart  in  the  night  prowler  of  the  rubber  plan- 
tation, for  with  rubber  at  the  present  market  value, 
the  robbing  of  the  cups  Avould  be  a  profitable  busi- 
ness, so  that  this  crime  on  a  plantation  is  looked  upon 
as  highway  robbery. 

TO  PALENQUE. 

The  following  day  we  completed  our  inspection 
of  the  finca,  with  more  interest  and  greater  effort. 
We  rested  up  another  day  before  getting  ready  for 
our  start  to  the  ruins  of  Palenque.  We  must  be  grow- 
ing stale  or  something,  for  the  mosquitos  did  not  pay 
the  same  attention  to  us  last  night  that  they  have 
done  heretofore. 

Breakfast  was  ready  when  we  were,  and  after 
partaking  plentifully  of  the  choicest  dishes  the  planta- 
tion afforded,  we  made  a  start.  Our  animals  were 
waiting  across  the  river  and  we  were  ferried  over  in  a 
dug-out.     I   was  pleased  to   find   that   mj^  horse   was 


74  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

decorated  with  an  English  saddle.  It  was  George's, 
whose  sprained  ankle  prevented  him  accompanying  us. 
I  was  very  sorry  for  George  but  the  thought  of  my 
luck  in  getting  his  saddle  and  escaping  the  tortures  I 
had  undergone  in  the  Mexican  affair  into  which  I  had 
formerly  been  fitted,  reconciled  me  somewhat  to  the 
condition  of  affairs  and  the  pain  that  he  must  neces- 
sarily endure. 

The  distance  to  the  village  of  Palenque  was  some- 
what over  twenty  miles,  and  about  nine  miles  farther 
to  the  ruins.  The  road  or  trail  might  be  a  continua- 
tion of  our  last  as  far  as  direction  and  difficulties  were 
concerned.  The  trail  had  been  overgrown  at  places 
and  had  to  be  cleared  away  by  the  machettes  of  the 
Mozos,  and  a  person  not  seeing  it,  would  scarcely 
credit  the  wonderfully  rapid  growth  of  forest  or 
jungle.  This  trail  had  not  been  used  for  a  few  months 
and  we  found  obstructions  across  our  path  consisting 
of  matted  and  twisted  rope-like  vines  around  branches 
of  trees  in  such  a  net-work  that  I  would  not  have 
credited  that  a  trail  could  be  found  again  by  cutting 
and  slashing  through  the  growth  for  the  distance  of  a 
few  yards. 

The  jungle,  to  a  person  without  the  necessary  and 
ever-present  Mexican  side-arm,  Avould  be  impene- 
trable and  the  making  of  a  trail  like  the  present  one, 
through  this  country,  is  far  from  being  child's  play. 
This  machette  is  a  very  useful  tool  or  weapon,  just  as 
necessity  requires.  It  is  sword-like  but  somewhat 
heavier.  It  will  cut  down  a  small  tree  or  a  man.  It 
will  clear  the  entangling  undergrowth,  chop  kindling 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  75 

wood  for  a  fire,  cut  bacon  or  tap  a  rubber  tree.  A 
native  in  the  tropics  without  it  would  be  almost  as 
useless  as  if  he  were  separated  from  his  cigarette,  and 
without  a  cigarette  a  Mexican  is  bereft  of  all  interest  in 
existence — present  or  future. 

Let  me  see.  I  am  wandering  somewhat  in  my 
record  but  this  digression  was  caused  by  an  obstruc- 
tion in  our  path,  and  it  was  while  observing  the  gentle- 
man under  consideration  clearing  the  way  that  the 
thoughts  above  recorded  presented  themselves.  The 
thought  and  the  clearing  came  to  an  end  at  the  same 
time  and  we  journeyed  along  fairly  well  until  going 
over  an  old  bridge,  single  file,  my  horse  broke  through 
with  his  front  feet,  throwing  me  off.  I  landed — if 
that  language  can  be  used  for  falling  on  the  bridge. 
I  lit  on  my  side  and  rolled  out  of  the  way,  so  that  the 
horse  in  his  struggles  to  get  out  of  the  hole,  would 
not  try  to  reverse  the  order  of  things  by  getting  on  me. 
Fortunately  neither  of  us  were  seriously  injured,  and 
we  resumed  our  relative  positions  after  a  physical  ex- 
amination by  the  entire  party. 

We  had  trudged  along  for  some  hours,  when  we 
were  met  by  a  Mr.  Plant,  manager  of  the  San  Leandro 
Finca.  He  turned  back  with  us  and  we  spent  a  pleas- 
ant half  hour  at  his  place.  His  wife  and  family  are 
with  him,  and  they  had  quite  a  collection  of  tropical 
birds,  some  of  them  larger  than  parrots  and  of  beau- 
tiful plumage.  Mrs.  Plant  would  have  made  lunch 
for  us  but  the  time  could  not  be  spared,  so  we  com- 


76  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

promised  by  borrowing  a  loaf  of  bread  and  two  tins 
of  canned  meat  of  some  kind. 

This  place  is  in  an  advanced  state  of  cultivation 
and  results  in  the  rubber  crop  were  anticipated  this 
season,  as  the  trees  in  many  parts  of  the  plantation 
had  attained  the  required  age  and  growth.  Our 
horses  were  made  ready  and  we  again  took  up  the 
white  man's  burden — or  the  horses  did.  I  began  to 
feel  the  effects  of  my  fall  by  a  painful  reminder  in  my 
left  side,  but  I  kept  up  with  the  procession;  indeed, 
sometimes  ahead  of  it,  for  by  this  time  Dick  had  used 
up  three  saplings  on  his  horse  without  getting  any 
response  so  far  as  increased  speed  was  concerned  and 
had  borrowed  one  of  Branehley's  spurs,  hoping  by  its 
application  to  impress  the  animal  with  the  necessity 
of  getting  a  move  on.  Billie's  horse  still  continued 
its  browsing  tactics  and  kept  behind  Dick's,  knowing 
that  it  would  escape  all  the  blame,  and  incidentally 
acquire  a  meal  through  its  many  pick-ups  along  the 
route,  but  Billie  was  not  happy.  The  stirrup  was  too 
small  for  his  large  boot  and  the  saddle  was  disagree- 
able in  places.  The  unexpected  stops  of  his  mount  and 
its  desire  to  resume  only  when  it  had  consumed  all 
the  available-  feed  in  sight,  put  him  in  no  enviable 
mood.  The  horse  evidently  did  not  understand  Eng- 
lish ;  at  least,  as  Billie  handed  it  out,  and  there  seemed 
to  be  established  between  them  a  mutual  indifference 
for  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  each  other. 

The  pack  mules  and  their  drivers  seemed  to  get 
along  all  right,  but  one  of  the  mules  had  the  feeding 
propensities  of  Billie's  horse  and  would  sometimes  get 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  77 

off  the  trail  for  a  choice  bite  of  some  succulent  foliage 
and  when  reminded  to  move  on  would  bump  against  a 
tree  and  trot  along  with  perfect  indifference.  So  in- 
different did  it  become  that  on  one  oecassion  it  caused 
trouble  by  trying  to  get  between  two  trees  and  spilling 
its  pack,  thereby  endangering  our  borrowed  loaf  of 
bread. 

This  nearly  catastrophe  reminded  us  that  we  had 
better  find  a  place  suitable  for  dividing  the  food  stuff. 
We  soon  came  to  a  long  bridge  over  a  river.  We 
crossed  and  tying  the  horses  in  the  shade  sought  shel- 
ter under  the  bridge  close  to  the  water  and  proceeded 
to  divide  up  the  staff  of  life  and  investigate  the  con- 
tents of  the  can  the  good  lady  had  so  kindly  supplied 
us  with.  Many  opinions  were  expressed  as  to  what  it 
was,  but  I  have  never  found  out  whether  it  was  veal, 
beef,  pork  or  chicken,  each  one  having  his  own  opin- 
ion on  the  question;  but  it  was  agreed  that  whatever 
it  might  be  it  was  good,  and  we  all  enjoyed  it  accord- 
ingly. We  saved  about  half  of  the  loaf  for  future 
reference  and  one  can  of  the — whatever  it  was — as  we 
were  not  sure  about  our  next  hotel. 

When  we  were  preparing  to  start,  Ave  found  that 
a  thunder  storm  was  threatening.  Clouds  had  formed 
behind  us,  distant  thunder  could  be  heard  and  the 
lightning  began  to  play,  but  still  we  were  in  good,  but 
very  heavy  weather.  We  tried  to  move  more  rapidly 
in  the  hopes  of  escaping  the  storm. 

Our  trail  entered  a  prairie-like  country  or  graz- 
ing land,  about  the  only  open  country  we  had  seen. 
There  must  have  been  about  three  or  four  miles  of  this 


78  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

character  of  country  and  no  evidence  of  it  having  been 
cleared  by  fire  or  machette. 

Branchley.  Dick  and  I  outdistanced  the  others  on 
account  of  our  mounts,  some  unforeseen  reason  having 
inspired  Dick's  horse  to  keep  in  the  running.  I  think 
it  must  have  been  the  spur  that  had  been  transferred 
to  his  left  foot;  anyhow,  the  storm  changed  from  be- 
hind us  to  the  right,  and  back  and  forth,  but  getting 
closer  and  closer  all  the  time.  Our  prairie  land  came 
to  an  end  and  we  entered  the  jungle  again.  Soon 
another  clearing,  and  again  forest.  We  waited  for 
some  little  time  for  the  rear  guard  but  not  seeing 
them  pushed  on.  We  had  crossed  the  prairie  land  by 
following  a  line  of  telegraph  or  telephone  poles,  be- 
lieving that  we  could  not  go  wrong  in  doing  so.  but 
after  a  mile  or  so  of  forest  Ave  emerged  again  in  a 
clearing  and  straight  ahead  of  us  was  a  hacienda. 

We  rode  up  to  the  gate  and  found  a  gentleman  on 
the  porch  of  the  house.  He  addressed  us  in  English, 
and  when  we  inquired  the  way  to  Palenque  he  inform- 
ed us  that  we  would  have  to  go  back  through  the 
woods  for  half  a  mile ;  then  turn  to  the  left,  cross  an 
arroyo  and  we  would  be  right  at  the  village  of  Palen- 
que. 

We  turned  back  and  wended  our  way  toward  the 
storm  that  had  been  following  us,  and  on  emerging 
from  the  woods,  ran  right  into  the  rain,  and  such  rain ; 
one  minute  wet  us  so  thoroughly  that  it  became  a 
matter  of  indifference  how  long  it  rained  after. 

We   had   ponchos,    but   they   were    on   the   pack 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  79 

mules,  and,  the  drivers  knowing  the  way,  had  probably 
taken  the  right  trail ;  at  all  events,  they  were  not  with 
us,  so  we  made  the  best  of  it  and  trotted  along  till  we 
found  the  arroyo,  crossing  it  we  reached  the  village 
in  about  ten  minutes,  and  found  the  balance  of  oar 
party  under  the  shelter  of  an  old  barn,  waiting  oar 
arrival. 

We  inquired  at  a  general  store  as  to  hotel  ac- 
commodations, and  learned  that  there  was  no  regular 
hotel,  but  that  Mr.  Somebody  on  the  plaza  took  in  any 
stranger  that  came  along  and  wanted  a  night's  lodg- 
ing. We  were  made  welcome.  Branchley  negotiating 
for  the  party  as  he  spoke  the  language. 

Our  horses  were  taken  care  of  by  the  drivers, 
and  we  by  the  hostess,  in  the  absence  of  her  father, 
who,  it  developed  was  the  government  care  taker  of 
the  ruins. 

Our  clothing,  thoroughly  soaked,  and  not  a  change 
of  raiment  compelled  us  to  let  them  dry  on  our  bodies 
which  was  acomplished  without  any  bad  results. 

The  rain  and  thunder  seemed  determined  to  give 
us  a  truly  tropical  welcome  and  it  was  no  dry  greet- 
ing. I  have  seen  rain,  and  heard  of  cloud  bursts  but 
the  present  was  the  greatest  continuous  downpour 
that  I  ever  witnessed,  and  it  was  no  matinee,  for, 
though  the  thunder  and  lightning  seemed  to  have 
other  engagements,  the  rain  had  taken  a  liking  to  our 
company  and  kept  it  up  during  the  night  and  we  were 
informed  that  six  inches  of  rain  was  the  record  for 
the  twelve  hours  following  our  arrival. 

It  was  noon  the  day  following  before  we  had  an 


80  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

opportunity  of  looking  over  the  village,  and  then, 
only  between  showers,  still  it  didn't  take  long  to  see 
all  that  was  on  exhibition. 

The  shed,  under  which  we  found  our  party  yes- 
terday, was  the  corner,  and  most  of  one  side  of  the 
plaza.  The  general  store  in  the  next  angle,  and  in  the 
center  but  farther  up  the  hill  (for  the  plaza  was  not 
level)  stood  the  village  church.  The  schoolhouse  oc- 
cupied another  side  all  to  itself,  and  the  lower  end 
was  where  the  main  street  began  or  ended.  This 
with  its  one  story  houses  on  either  side. 

The  post  office  was  located  on  this  street  and  the 
post  man  arrived  on  horseback  while  we  were  there, 
but  where  he  came  from  or  where  he  went  to,  I  did 
not  ascertain. 

The  church  was  locked  up,  but  we  were  inter- 
ested in  two  tablets  of  stone  built  into  the  front  walls 
on  either  side  of  the  door.  They  were  from  the  ruins. 
and  covered  with  curious  markings  and  figures.  These 
tablets  have  been  written  about  and  described  by 
Stevens  Prescott  and  others.  Here  is  one  description 
by  Senor  Don  Ramon: 

"In  the  facade  of  the  building,  on  either  side  of 
the  entrance,  is  a  strange  figure — one  has  a  headdress 
of  leaves  and  flowers  and  has  a  trumpet,  from  which 
exudes  flames  and  smoke,  from  the  shoulders  hangs  a 
tiger  skin,  adorned  with  a  snake,  a  bird  and  other 
^devices  with  bracelets  on  the  arms  and  feet.  The 
other  figure  has  a  complicated  adornment  of  the  head 
composed  of  plumes,  with  the  sacred  bird  El  Gavilan, 
the  sparrow  hawk   holding  a  fish   in  its  beak.     The 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  81 

other  adornments  are  a  timers'  head  and  a  grotesque 
figure  with  other  graving-s.  Over  both  figures  are 
various  hieroglyphics." 

These  tablets  had  been  lying  around  the  village 
before  they  found  a  resting  place  in  the  front  of  the 
church. 

The  population  of  Palenque  is  about  one  thousand, 
and  that  is  being  liberal. 

There  are  no  buildings  of  marked  age  or  appear- 
ance and  it  is  strange  that  some  enterprising  individ- 
ual has  not,  ere  this,  builded  a  hotel  for  the  comfort 
of  even  the  few  who  go  out  of  their  way  to  visit  the 
very  much  underestimated  ruins  of  Palenque. 

The  weather  conditions  did  not  improve  much 
but  we  made  up  our  minds  to  start  the  following  day 
rain  or  shine,  and  it  did  both,  but  agreeable  to  our  de- 
termination, we  set  forth  about  nine  a.  m.  taking  in 
addition  to  our  two  native  servants,  a  young  boy  from 
the  house  in  which  we  stopped  as  a  guide. 

The  trail  or  road  was  through  a  forest  for  nine 
miles,  the  trees  were  of  larger  growth  than  any  we  had 
seen  in  the  country  heretofore. 

The  ground  was  slippery  from  the  rain  and  the 
country  though  level  in  the  main,  had  many  places  of 
very  steep  grade,  and  riding  up  or  down  stairs  in 
comparison  would  seem  the  merest  child's  play. 

On  going  down  such  grades  to  the  rivers,  the 
horse  would  brace  himself  and  literally  slide  down, 
and  on  ascending  the  opposite  bank  after  fording  the 
stream,  we  braced  ourselves  by  taking  hold  of  the 
horses'  mane,  leaning  on  his  neck  and  urging  him  by 


82  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

switch  or  spur  to  mount  the  grade.  It  might  seem 
strange  that  in  these  places  we  did  not  dismount,  but 
the  ground  was  in  such  condition  that  M^alking  was  al- 
most out  of  the  question.  The  immediate  approach 
to  the  ruins  is  the  steepest  ascent,  and  as  the  path 
was  rocky  we  did  dismount,  and  after  an  effort  gained 
the  summit,  and  were  in  sight  of  a  small  settlement 
of  Indians  who  are  permitted  to  cultivate  the  clearing 
on  the  river  bank  close  to  the  ruins.  These  Indians 
are  under  the  direction  of  the  care  taker,  but  neither 
care  taker  nor  Indians  took  the  slightest  interest  in 
our  visit. 

THE  RUINS. 
Following  through  the  settlement,  the  first  thing 
that  attracted  our  attention  was  the  outlet  of  an  aque- 
duct, about  ten  feet  wide  and  below  the  ground  level; 
the  masonry  could  be  seen  some  distance  on  either  side 
before  we  arrived  at  the  place  where  it  was  covered 
over.  A  volume  of  water  like  a  river  (in  fact  it  was  a 
river)  flowed  from  somewhere  in  the  ground  biit  how 
far  the  masonry  work  extended  or  where  the  water 
came  from,  has  not  yet  been  determined.  The  water 
was  clear  and  cold,  though  the  day  was  exceedingly 
close  and  rainy,  yet  no  evidence  of  muddiness  from 
the  previous  day's  rain  was  in  the  water. 

A  hundred  yards  farther  along  was  the  first  of  the 
ruins,  but  we  did  not  devote  much  time  to  it,  as  it 
was  pretty  badly  demolished. 

A  somewhat  winding  path  brought  us  in  full 
view  of  a  number  of  buildings,  each  one  occupying  a 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXIC.T  83 

hill  or  pyramid  of  its  own.  The  guide  led  us  to  what 
was  known  as  "The  Palace."  We  paused  to  take  a  gen- 
eral look  at  it  before  climbin"-  up  to  inspect  the  in- 
terior. The  hill,  or  mound  on  which  it  stands  was 
some  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high  and  looked  as  if  it  might 
have  been  made  with  sloping  sides  of  rock  or  earth. 
There  must  have  been  steps  up  the  sides  of  the  build- 
ing sometime  but  we  failed  to  find  them  and  so  clamb- 
ered up  the  loose  rock  and  into  the  building.  We 
wandered  all  over  it  from  basement  to  roof.  The 
basement  consists  of  passageways  reached  by  a  half 
closed  entrance  from  the  ground  floor.  These  pas- 
sageways were  of  different  sizes,  some  about  three  feet 
wide  and  six  feet  in  the  clear  and  one  five  or  six  feet 
wide  and  the  same  head  room.  The  smaller  passages 
ran  at  right  angles  to  the  large  one.  Carvings  in 
these  passages  were  plentiful.  At  the  end  of  the  larg- 
est one  a  slab  of  stone  about  eighteen  inches  above 
the  floor  and  four  feet  by  six  feet  on  top,  looked  as  if 
it  might  have  been  a  couch  or  table  for  prisoner  or 
recluse.  Bats  swarmed  these  corridors,  and  we  ran 
the  risk  of  being  struck  by  them  as  they  flew  by,  or 
getting  our  candles  put  out  by  their  wings.  The  main 
floor  only  suggests  Avhat  the  building  may  have  been. 
There  remains  a  corridor  about  eight  feet  wide,  that  I 
suppose  ran  the  Avhole  length  of  the  building.  The 
outer  walls  of  this  corridor  has  openings  or  arch-ways 
ten  feet  wide,  built  on  piers  eight  feet  wide  and  four 
feet  thick.  The  inner  wall  of  this  corridor  was 
mostly  solid,  being  broken  only  by  openings  on  an  in- 
ner corridor  or  an  altar  or  shrine.  The  roof  of  the  cor- 


84  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

ridor  was  formed  by  corbeling  the  flat  stones  a  few 
inches  each  course  on  either  side  of  the  walls  until 
they  reached  within  about  six  inches  of  meeting,  then 
a  flat  stone  was  laid  across  overlapping  about  six 
inches.  The  corbel  on  the  outside  of  the  building  act- 
ed as  a  cornice.  The  stones  seemed  to  be  irregular 
in  thickness,  some  only  two  inches  and  others  four, 
six  or  eight,  and  solid  without  any  apparent  cleavage. 
It  probably  had  been  formed  by  irregular  deposits, 
for  its  bed  surface  was  as  smooth  as  if  cut  with  a 
knife.  It  was  a  light  fawn  in  color,  and  looked  as 
though  it  might  stand  for  very  delicate  carving. 
About  a  dozen  rooms,  some  fair  sized  and  other  cell- 
like places  occupied  part  of  the  main  floor. 

On  the  northeast  side  of  the  corridor  an  opening 
led  to  an  inner  passage,  across  which  could  be  seen  a 
large  court  that  appeared  to  be  about  one  hundred 
feet  square.  The  floor  of  this  court  was  on  the  level 
of  that  of  the  vaults  and  was  reached  by  a  flight  of 
five  stone  steps,  each  step  fifteen  inches  rise,  twelve 
inch  tread  and  thirty  feet  long.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  court  a  second  flight  of  steps,  though  not  so 
wide,  led  into  another  corridor.  On  either  side  of  the 
main  steps-  large  slabs  of  stone  were  erected  along 
the  wall  on  the  rake  of  the  stairs,  and  on  these  slabs 
were  carved  figures  of  men  and  hieroglyphics.  This 
court  may  have  been  used  as  a  bath  or  arena ;  the  steps 
were  surely  never  built  for  getting  in  and  out  of  the 
court  only,  but  rather.  I  imagine,  for  people  to  sit  or 
stand  on,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  whatever  was 
taking  place  below.     The  opposite  wall  as  high  as  the 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  85 

steps,  was  covered  with  carved  tablets,  but  I  could 
see  no  evidence  of  there  ever  having  been  a  roof  on 
this  part  of  the  building.  Across  a  corridor  at  the  top 
of  the  opposite  flight  of  steps,  is  another  court,  but 
not  so  large.  A  third,  from  which  rose  a  tower,  and 
on  the  roof  adjoining  this  third  court  a  tree  of  immense 
size  is  groAving;  its  roots  imbedded  in  the  accumula- 
tion of  rocks  and  dirt  of  centuries  and  as  if  not  satisfi- 
ed with  the  stability  of  the  roof  for  its  roots  it  has 
sent  them  down  the  walls  alongside  of  an  opening 
which  it  spanned  and  buried  them  solidly  in  the  earth 
below. 

A  kind  of  sanctum  sanctorum  faces  on  the  main 
corridor.  It  is  eight  feet  by  six  feet  with  a  four-foot 
opening.  The  walls  are  carved  with  curious  markings, 
and  at  either  side,  though  not  connected,  is  a  cell-like 
room.  This  altar  room  or  whatever  it  may  have  been, 
faces  the  open  space  below  and  could  be  seen  by  the 
people  on  the  porch  or  the  grounds  and  may  have 
been  a  place  of  royal  station.  This  building  is  with- 
out arch,  in  fact  there  is  not  an  arch  in  any  of  the 
buildings,  the  openings  being  covered  over  either  by 
corbel  or  lintel.  The  corbels  and  walls  are  covered 
with  a  stucco  or  plaster  and  presented  a  fairly  smooth 
surface.  We  could  have  devoted  more  time  to  this 
building  but  we  were  anxious  to  visit  some  of  the 
others. 

Directly  east,  aud  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  distant  from  the  porch  where  we  entered,  and  on 
top  of  a  hill  stood  another  but  smaller  temple  and  we 
took  advantage  of  a  lull  in  the  rain  to  make  our  way 


86  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

across.  This  building  shows  more  clearly  than  the 
others  its  general  outlines.  It  was  of  a  different  style, 
being  two  stories  high,  the  openings  below  being 
formed  by  corbeling.  The  upper  story  not  occupy- 
ing so  much  space  as  the  ground  floor,  but  resting 
on  inner  walls  and  presenting  a  more  artistic  effect. 
It  may  have  been  for  the  female  portion  of  the  family, 
if  females  ever  lived  there  or  it  may  have  been  for  a 
watch  tower.  The  lower  story  was  approached  from 
the  northwest  by  climbing  up  over  rocks  and  slippery 
earth.  The  entrance  faced  west  and  consisted  of  a 
corridor  in  the  inner  wall  of  which  was  a  shrine  or 
altar,  and  on  the  walls,  where  not  broken  were  tablets 
covered  with  markings.  A  vault  or  basement  could  be 
seen,  but  Ave  did  not  go  below. 

The  same  general  conditions  were  found  as  in  the 
one  just  left.  We  visited  others,  each  one  occupying 
its  own  eminence  and  presenting  a  difference  in  de- 
sign, though  preserving  the  same  general  appearance. 
One,  however,  attracted  onr  attention  for  many  rea- 
sons. First  because  it  was  on  the  highest  hill  and 
again  because  we  could  see  a  peculiarity  in  the  con- 
struction o£  the  front  Avail,  and  last  because  a  cordu- 
roy skid  or  stairAvay  of  timber  had  been  built  recently 
from  the  level  of  the  valley  to  the  front  of  the  ruin 
on  top  of  the  hill  for  the  purpose  of  removing  the  re- 
mainder of  the  celebrated  Palenque  cross,  the  other 
part  of  it  being  at  present  in  the  museum  in  the  City 
of  Mexico. 

Well,  we  climbed  up  the  skid-way  and  reached 
the  hill  top.     A  A^eranda  or  corridor  was  the  first  place 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  87 

we  entered  and  the  outer  wall  attracted  our  attention. 
It  was  started  with  a  corbel  both  inside  and  out  and 
when  it  got  story  high  it  met  the  inner  wall  corbel  and 
formed  an  arch,  and  the  outside  had  such  a  projection 
that  it  made  a  water  shed  and  sloped  back  roof-like 
to  the  upper  story  or  stories.  The  outer  walls  at  the 
top  of  the  first  story,  had  a  roof  of  stone  with  a  pitch 
like  a  mansard,  though  perhaps  not  so  steep.  The 
upper  stories  rising  from  the  back  of  the  mansard  and 
resting  on  interior  walls.  The  upper  structure  seem- 
ed of  a  ginger  bread  character  and  looked  like  a  num- 
ber of  miniature  stories,  what  they  could  have  been 
used  for  I  didn't  even  trj^  to  imagine. 

The  altar  or  shrine  was  in  evidence  but  this  build- 
ing's chief  interest  lay  in  the  stone  on  which  with  other 
figures  and  characters  was  carved  the  now  wonderful 
Palenque  cross. 

Hunger  admonished  us  that  the  living  present 
should  receive  some  consideration,  and  avc  immediately 
proceeded  to  regale  the  inner  man  on  whatever  the 
servants  had  the  forethought  to  provide. 

Our  observations  after  this  were  of  a  general 
character  and  the  hour  admonished  us  to  prepare  for 
the  return  trip. 

Our  visit  was  more  than  satisfactory  from  a  tour- 
ist point  of  view  and  we  marveled  that  so  few  people 
find  their  way  to  this  wonderful  place. 

Less  has  been  written  about  Palenque  than  any 
other  ruins  that  I  know  of,  yet  in  a  Avay  Palenque  has 
been  known  of  since  1750,  when  some  Spaniards 
stumbled  across  the  ruins  or  wer«  shown  them  by  the 


88  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

Indians.  News  of  the  discovery  was  conveyed  to 
Spain  and  the  ruins  were  explored  by  order  of  the 
king  in  1787.  A  further  exploration  was  conducted  in 
1807,  by  order  of  Charles  IV.  In  1839  John  L.  Steph- 
ens visited  the  ruins  and  explored  them  more  system- 
atically than  the  others,  and  his  conclusions  were  that 
il  a  like  discovery  had  been  made  at  that  time  in  Italy, 
Greece,  Egypt  or  Asia  within  reach  of  European  travel 
it  would  have  created  an  interest  not  inferior  to  the 
discovery  of  Herculanaeum  or  Pompeii  or  the  ruins  of 
Paestum.  Mr.  Stephens  states  that  the  natives  aver 
that  the  ruins  cover  a  space  of  sixty  miles  and  that 
some  writers  have  said  that  the  ancient  city  was  ten 
times  larger  than  New  York  City,  but  he  also  adds 
that  the  natives  know  nothing  about  it  and  the  stran- 
gers less,  because  the  surface  of  the  earth  is  covered 
by  an  impenetrable  forest  compared  to  which  our 
wildest  woodland  is  an  open  field  and  that  one  might 
pass  within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  greatest  of  temples 
and  not  tind  it,  consequently  the  extent  is  unknown  to 
anyone,  as  no  exploration  has  ever  been  made. 

The  condition  of  the  forest  above  noted  is  true, 
as  far  as  we  know,  and  it  would  be  a  large  undertaking 
to  ascertain  the  extent  of  this  forgotten  city  if  city  it 
was. 

The  Mexican  government  is  apparently  taking 
some  interest  in  it,  as  evidenced  by  the  visit  of  the  min- 
ister of  education,  and  I  am  sure,  that  never  before 
were  visitors  permitted  to  see  the  ruins  under  such 
favorable  conditions  as  we  were,  the  forest  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood  having  been  cut  down  and  the 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  89 

rooms  in  many    of  the  rnins  dug  out  for  that  official 
inspection. 

Some  day  the  clearing  up  of  the  question  of  extent 
and  age  will  be  taken  up  and  if  one  may  judge  from 
what  little  there  is  exposed  a  wonderful  revelation  is 
in  store  for  the  civilized  world  to  marvel  at. 

It  is  strange  that  nothing  is  known  of  the  build- 
ers though  they  have  left  their  writings  on  the  stones 
and  we  can  but  hope  that  the  future  will  in  this  in- 
stance be  able  to  unfold  the  past. 

We  left  the  ruins  of  Palenque  as  we  found  them, 
but  the  memories  and  thoughts  inspired  by  the  visit 
will  stay  with  us  with  ever  recurring  interest  and  spec- 
ulation. 

The  trip  back  to  the  village  was  made  mostly  in 
the  rain,  but  as  we  had  our  pouches  or  rain  coats  we 
did  not  mind  it  much.  And  by  the  way,  a  poncho  is 
an  oil  cloth  made  with  a  hole  in  the  center  large 
enough  to  pass  over  the  head  and  button  up  close 
under  the  chin.  It  hangs  down  below  the  knees,  and 
when  on  horse  back  covers  the  legs  as  well  as  the 
body. 

We  arrived  very  tired  as  the  day  was  ending  in 
the  promise  of  a  thoroughly  wet  night. 

The  following  morning  found  us  up  early  but 
not  bright  and  early,  as  we  were  anything  but  bright. 

We  had  decided  to  make  a  start  back  for  the 
finca,  and  to  that  end  had  engaged  the  services  of  an 
Indian  guide  to  show  us  another  way  out,  in   order 


90  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

to  avoid  brid}?es  which  we  were  afraid  might  be  wash- 
ed away. 

Before  breakfast  I  happened  to  pass  through  the 
dining  room  and  noticed  our  young  lady  hostess  break- 
ing the  soft  boiled  eggs  into  a  glass,  and  I  stopped 
short  when  I  noticed  how  she  did  it.  She  cracked  the 
egg  on  the  top  of  the  glass  and  allowed  the  yolk  to 
drop  inside,  then  with  her  thumb  nail  she  scooped  out 
the  remaining  part  of  the  white  into  the  glass.  About 
that  time  I  decided  that  I  wanted  my  eggs  hard  boil- 
ed and  so  informed  her  and  had  two  sent  back  for 
further  boiling  or  dipping,  for  they  don't  boil,  but  dip 
the  eggs  in  boiling  water.  And  when  mine  were 
thought  to  be  sufficiently  cooked,  I  broke  them  without 
the  aid  of  the  young  lady's  thumb. 

Dick  questioned  me  about  the  eggs  after  breakfast, 
and  when  I  told  him  the  only  comment  he  made  was  to 
congratulate  himself  on  having  his  eggs  prepared  in 
the  truly  Mexican  style. 

We  started  about  nine,  and  our  guide  led  us 
through  the  forest.  There  may  have  been  a  trail  be- 
fore the  rain,  but  if  so  no  evidence  of  it  remained, 
for  we  waded  through  water  up  to  the  horses'  knees. 

We  traveled  of  necessity  single  file  and  in  close 
order,  as  the  branches  from  above  or  below  had  to  be 
held  back  by  the  one  ahead  and  caught  by  the  one  fol- 
lowing. Our  progress  during  this  part  of  the  journey 
was  tiresome  and  not  altogether  without  risk,  but  in 
the  course  of  time  we  emerged  and  got  into  clearer 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  01 

territory,  and  about  noon  arrived  at  the  abode  of  the 
gruide,   where  we   halted   for  lunch. 

His  ranch  or  whatever  else  he  called  it,  contained 
something  over  three  hundred  acres,  but  it  was  not 
all  cultivated  by  any  means.  Still  he  got  along  in 
his  way  and  managed  to  raise  sufficient  fruit  and 
vegetables  to  support  a  large  family  of  children  and 
the  necessary  number  of  cattle  and  dogs.  He  also  had 
quite  a  patch  of  tobacco  growing,  and  in  that  and  a 
half  American  grandson  he  lavished  his  greatest  at- 
tention. He  showed  us  his  tobacco  patch  with  pride 
and  introduced  his  grandson  with  much  show  of  affec- 
tion. 

The  other  members  of  the  family  were  ignored. 
They  were  there  to  be  seen  but  that  was  enough,  and 
they  seemed  to  understand  it  that  way. 

After  lunch  our  guide  continued  with  us  until  wo 
were  out  of  the  woods,  so  to  speak,  and  it  was  decid- 
ed that  the  way  was  clear  and  by  folloAving  the  trail 
we  could  hardly  go  wrong.  It  was  well  that  the 
"hardly"  had  been  inserted  about  going  wrong,  for 
though  our  mozos  professed  to  know  the  way  ahead, 
we  surely  got  lost.  At  the  end  of  a  three  hours'  jour- 
ney came  the  end  of  the  trail,  in  a  clearing  or  rather 
a  place  where  the  trees  and  underbrush  had  been  cu^ 
down.  This  clearing  appeared  to  be  about  half  a 
mile  square.  We  left  our  horses  in  charge  of  the 
natives  and  separated,  going  to  different  parts  of  the 
clearing  in  an  endeavor  to  find  a  trail.  We  spent  an 
hour  in  this  very  tiresome  business  and  Branchlcy 
was  the  fortunate  one  to  find  it  at  the  extreme  end  of 


92  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

the  patch.  This  meant  a  hard  job  getting  the  horses 
through,  as  the  brush  and  down  timber  presented 
quite  an  obstruction  to  our  progress,  but  we  finalh 
made  it  without  mishap  and  from  there  on  the  path 
was  known  to  our  people.  We  arrived  at  the  finca  of 
San  Francisco  to  find  that  the  low  land  between  it  and 
our  headquarters  had  become  a  lake  through  the  over- 
flowing of  the  river.  The  horses  had  to  swim  across 
and  we  were  ferried  over  in  the  dug-out  that  had  taken 
us   across  the   river   on   our   departure. 

It  was  not  much  of  a  place  to  call  home,  but  we 
were  glad  to  get  there,  and  after  dinner  retired,  as 
we  were  to  be  on  the  road  again  in  the  morning  for 
El  Salto  aud  our  sixteen-horse  power  river  boat. 

The  following  morning  we  had  to  divide  our 
party.  George  was  not  sufficiently  recovered  to  ride 
and  Billie  had  acquired  such  an  antipathy  to  both  his 
horse  and  saddle  that  he  agreed  to  accompany  Oeorge 
down  the  river  in  the  canoe. 

Branchley,  Dick  and  myself  trusted  to  the  un- 
certainty of  a  new  made  trail  for  another  twenty-five 
mile  jungle  ride. 

We  first  saw  the  river  voyagers  off  and  then  began 
the  worst  days  ride  we  had  since  we  started  on  the 
trip. 

As  I  look  back  on  it  the  thoughts  are  so  unpleas- 
ant that  I  will  pass  over  it  briefly,  merely  mention- 
ing the  fact  that  Dick's  horse  for  over  twenty  miles 
could  hardly  be  induced  to  travel  beyond  the  pace  of 
the  proverbial  snail,  and  the  last  few  miles  could  hari^h 
be  restrained,  when  it  found  itself  in  known  territory, 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  93 

as  it  belonged  to  El  Salto  and  its  desire  to  ^et  home 
was  so  great  that  many  times  Dick  had  narrow  escapes 
from  branches  or  low  bridges  as  they  are  called. 

The  trail  led  over  the  most  uneven  country,  that 
it  could  be  the  fate  of  saddle-tired  amateur  jockeys 
to  encounter. 

Climbing  up  steep  grades  on  the  back  of  the 
animal  where  climbing  on  foot  would  have  been 
considered  hazardous,  and  going  down  hill  where  the 
stirrups  pointed  to  the  horses  head  and  the  riders 
head  about  on  a  line  with  the  horses  tail,  over  rocky 
formation  for  quite  a  distance,  where  nature  had  not 
been  particular  about  rubbing  down  the  jagged  sur- 
face. All  this  and  then  some,  but  why  think  it  all 
over  again. 

We  arrived  at  El  Salto  to  find  our  friends  ahead 
of  us  some  hours,  but  also  with  a  story  to  tell. 

Their  canoe  was  carried  down  the  Rio  Mechel  at 
quite  a  speed,  the  river  having  risen  many  feet.  They 
were  hung  up  on  a  tree  at  one  point,  and  run  ashore 
at  many  others  where  the  river  turned  or  where  logs 
had  gorged  it.  They  were  all  but  spilled  a  number  of 
times,  and  George  and  Billie  both  agreed  that  if  they 
ever  were  shanghaied,  they  hoped  they  would  not  be 
shipped  to  sail  on  the  Rio  Mechel  in  a  dug-out. 

The  horses  and  mules  were  delivered  to  their 
owner  who  seemed  to  have  an  interest  in  everything  in 
town. 

El  Salto  is  a  town  of  one  thousand  population,  at 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Tulija  river.  One  street 
is  fronting  on  the  water,  but  the  principal  business 


94  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

houses  are  on  a  street  running  at  right  angles  from  the 
river. 

The  gentleman  from  whom  our  horses  had  been 
hired,  owned  a  general  store.  He  also  conducted  a 
hotel  and  the  post  office,  cashed  checks  of  all  the  busi- 
ness men  for  miles  around,  bought  and  sold  any  kind 
of  product  from  coffee  to  cattle,  ran  a  liquor  store  and 
finally  was  a  friend  of  the  Jefe  politico,  an  official 
who  is  both  judge  and  jury  in  all  matters  short  of 
murder. 

We  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  and  dining  with 
these  gentlemen,  and  found  them  both  very  agreeable 
persons. 

The  captain  of  our  good  ship  the  Recrio,  soon 
learned  of  our  arrival  and  reported  for  instructions. 

We  decided  to  start  that  evening  before  sun  down, 
and  after  rounding  up  the  crew  and  getting  everything 
in  ship  shape,  the  captain  again  appeared  with  the 
whole   crew   and   took   our   belongings   aboard. 

We  said  adios  to  the  representatives  of  the  com- 
mercial and  judicial  interests  of  El  Salto  and  started 
on   our  way  down  the  stream. 

The  night  was  clear  but  without  moonlight.  The 
captain  was  not  much  in  favor  of  running  at  night  as 
snags  were  dangerous  and  the  river  rapid,  but  we  were 
anxious  to  get  along,  and  so  he  took  a  chance. 

After  dinner  I  climbed  on  top  of  the  engine  house, 
as  the  stars  were  beautiful  and  the  mosquitos  below 
very  annoying.  I  made  myself  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sibly by  using  some  old  canvas  to  keep  me  from  roll- 
ing off  into  the  river,  and  making  a  pillow  out  of  a 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  95 

bucket  rack.  I  must  have  dozed  off  to  sleep,  for  about 
nine  o'clock  I  felt  a  jar  and  sure  oiiouiih  we  had  run 
into  one  of  the  snags  the  captain  had  dreaded.  The 
sudden  stop  almost  threw  me  overboard,  and  from 
below  came  a  babel  of  tongues,  the  captain  swearing  at 
the  crew  in  Spanish  for  getting  snagged  and  damning 
his  luck  in  English  for  attempting  to  run  at  night 
against  his  better  judgment,  and  a  sharp,  triumphant 
"I  told  you  so"  to  Billie,  who  immediately  hoisted  his 
admiral's  flag  and  assuming  command,  ordered  all 
hands  forward  so  that  the  Aveight  in  the  boAV  might 
slide  the  boat  over  the  obstruction.  The  order  was 
obeyed  and  the  result  was  satisfactory,  as  the  boat  slid 
off  after  wavering  some  as  to  whether  she  would  keel 
over  or  do  as  she  was  expected.  Then  the  captain 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  Ave  Avere  lost,  as  no  shore 
was  in  sight  and  the  snag  Avas  not  charted,  so  after  the 
crew  had  been  sworn  at  some  more,  the  captain  order- 
ed them  to  send  up  signals  of  distress,  which  they 
did  by  shouting,  alternately,  "Amigos."  This  con- 
tinued for  a  minute  or  so  Avhen  a  voice  from  some- 
where answered.  Then  an  animated  conversation  fol- 
lowed at  the  end  of  AA-hich  the  captain  informed  us 
that  we  were  in  a  lagoon,  and  that  the  oAA'ner  of  the 
voice  had  gone  to  get  his  boat  and  come  aboard  as 
pilot.  Pending  the  coming  of  the  rescue  party  a  hur- 
ried examination  of  tlie  boat  Avas  made  by  Billie,  who 
being  a  ship  designer  and  builder  Avas  qualified  for  the 
inspection.  The  aa'cU  Avas  sounded  and  found  dry; 
the  sides  were  examined  and  pronounced  intact;  the 
rudder  had  passed  safely  over  the  snag  and  the  en- 


96  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

gine  responded  when  tried.  By  this  time  the  boat  was 
heard  coming  Avith  our  friend  who  was  soon  on  board 
directing  which   way  to  steer. 

It  seems  that  our  misfortune  was  caused  by  the 
overflow  of  the  river  and  the  helmsman  had  steered 
through  an  opening  in  the  bank  and  lost  us  in  the 
lagoon. 

We  were  soon  again  in  the  river  and  the  pilot  re- 
mained with  us  long  enough  to  have  something  to  eat 
and  inform  the  captain  of  his  latitude  and  longitude. 

On  consulting  the  chart  we  found  ourselves  close 
to  Tipititan.  which  we  soon  reached  and  where  by 
mutual  agreement  Ave  stopped  for  the  night. 

The  crew  got  the  owner  of  the  dungeon  hotel  out 
of  bed,  and  he  went  through  the  performance  of  setting 
up  cots  for  us  as  on  the  former  occasion. 

The  night  was  beautiful  and  the  inside  of  the  room 
an;\i;hing  but  inviting,  so  after  the  others  had  retired 
I  wandered  up  and  down  between  the  church  and  the 
sleeping  place  until  about  two  in  the  morning,  enjoying 
the  beauty  of  the  southern  cross,  as  on  our  former  stop- 
ping at  Tipititan. 

We  were  aroused  in  the  morning  by  the  captain 
pounding  on  one  of  the  doors  and  informing  us  that 
breakfast  was  ready. 

A  hurried  toilet  and  we  were  soon  on  board  and 
on  our  way  down  the  stream.  The  river  was  high  and 
the  current  rapid  so  we  made  good  time  and  without 
mishap  arrived  at  Frontera  in  the  afternoon  and  were 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  97 

soon  ou  the  mental  register  of  our  o-enial  host  Senor 
Hop  Wah  at  the  Grand  Hotel. 

We  met  our  Pittsburii:  friends,  who  had  been  up 
the  country  looking  over  some  oil  land  and  who  im- 
parted to  us  the  cheerful  information  that  we  had  just 
missed  a  boat  for  Vera  Cruz  and  would  be  compelled  to 
wait  a  few  days  for  the  next  sailing.  This  was  dis- 
couraging, to  say  the  least,  but  we  were  somewhat 
consoled  later  in  the  evening  when  Ave  learned  that  a 
boat  would  sail  the  following  evening  for  San  Juan 
Bautista.  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Tobasco,  and  fur- 
ther that  a  bull  fight  was  to  take  place  on  Sunday. 

We  made  up  our  minds  to  take  the  trip  as  it  would 
relieve  the  monotony. 

The  weather  in  Frontera  was  getting  warmer  since 
our  last  visit  and  the  mosquitos  seemed  to  recognize 
us  and  gave  us  the  glad  hand,  so  to  speak.  And  that 
reminds  me  that  the  mosquitos  aforesaid  were  the 
cause  of  our  friend  George  having  to  set  up  the  drinks 
that  evening. 

We  were  seated  at  a  table  on  the  street  with  our 
Pittsburg  friends  and  the  captain  having  refreshments 
and  talking  over  our  trip.  The  mosquitos  were  very  at- 
tentive, perhaps  hoping  to  get  some  pointers  about 
the  habits  and  customs  of  their  relatives  up  the 
country,  one  especiallj''  large  fellow  having  selected 
George  as  its  prize :  had  touched  him  on  the  back  of 
hand  a  number  of  times.  George  had  made  as  many  in- 
effectual attempts  to  annihilate  his  tormentor,  and  be- 
coming exasperated  beyond  his  usual  placid  condi- 
tion made  three  rapid  slaps  on  the  back  of  his  hand. 


98  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

The  mosquito  disappeared  but  the  waiter  appeared 
instead,  as  waiters  in  Mexico  are  summoned  by  three 
claps  of  the  hand.  We  all  saw  where  George  was  the 
victim  doubly  by  losing  his  mosquito  and  calling 
the  waiter.  He  made  good,  however,  and  we  ordered  a 
double  ration  and  he  paid  for  the  score. 

The  night  was  extremely  close,  the  exertion  of 
even  sitting  in  a  chair  was  tiring,  and  the  perspira- 
tion fairly  dropped  from  the  end  of  our  fingers. 

The  captain  consoled  us  by  recalling  nights  in 
Frontera,  when  a  night  like  the  present  one  called  for 
overcoats  and  zerappas;  nights  so  warm  that  the  mos- 
quitos  were  forced  to  crawl  on  the  streets  and  had  to 
bite  you  through  the  soles  of  your  shoes.  In  fact  so 
hot  became  the  captain's  stories  that  we  were  obliged 
to  hand  out  a  few  of  our  own  about  the  glorious  cli- 
mate of  California  and  Arizona,  and  Billie  told 
about  the  dead  soldier  from  Yuma,  who  in  response 
to  the  inquiry  of  his  Satanic  Majesty  if  it  was  hot 
enough  for  him,  requested  permission  to  return  for  his 
blankets. 

The  captain  bethought  him  that  he  was  behind  in 
his  dues  in  the  Ananias  Club  and  bade  us  good-night. 

The  shower  bath  at  the  Grand  Hotel  worked  over- 
time that  night  before  we  retired,  and  after  the  shower 
bath  ceased  to  work  the  mosquitoes  went  on  watch  and 
enlivened  the  remaining  hours  by  singing  "We  won't 
go  home  till  morning." 

For  breakfast  Dick  had  ordered  ham  and  eggs 
and  got  Hop  to  understand  by  sign  language  that  he 
wanted  them  turned  over.     Hop  got  the  idea  firmly 


BIT.S    OK    OLD    MEXICO  99 

fixed  in  his  mind  and  repeated  "turn  him  over"  so 
often  that  when  Billie  ordered  oatmeal  and  George 
wanted  fruit  Hop  Wah  looking  very  wise  repeated 
"turn  him  over,"  but  whether  he  knew  a  little  more 
English  than  he  pretended  to  I  don't  know,  but  he 
generally  furnished  whatever  we  wanted  and  was 
altogether  a  good  fellow. 

We  procured  tickets  for  the  steamer  to  San  Juan 
and  embarked  at  six  o'clock  Saturday  afternoon. 

The  crcAV  were  all  Mexican  except  the  captain, 
who  was  a  fierce  looking  sea  dog  of  some  Central 
American  country. 

We  had  a  reasonably  good  cabin  with  four  berths, 
but  spent  most  of  the  time  on  deck. 

The  stewards  were  obliging  fellows  and  we  got 
along  very  nicely.  We  arrived  the  following  morning 
and  bj'  arrangement  were  taken  to  a  hotel  where  we 
had  a  very  fair  meal,  secured  rooms  for  the  night,  and 
proceeded  to  look  the  town  over. 

SAN  JUAN  BEAUTISTA. 

San  Juan  Beautista  is  a  town  of  about  thirteen 
thousand  population.  The  capital  of  the  state  of  To- 
basco ;  a  wide  awake  place  with  fairly  good  streets 
and  stores ;  is  about  fifty  feet  above  sea  level ;  has  a 
good  producing  country  back  of  it  and  a  chance  for 
shipping  that  makes  it  one  of  the  desirable  business 
centers  of  the  State. 

We  inquired  about  the  bull  fight  and  where  it  was 


100  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

to  be  and  were  informed  that  it  was  postponed,  but  a 
cock  fight  would  take  place  in  the  afternoon. 

We  were  just  as  well  pleased,  and  so  when  the 
appointed  time  arrived  we  were  conducted  to  a  place  a 
short  distance  from  the  business  center;  paid  admis- 
sion of  fifty  cuts  and  were  allowed  to  take  a  seat  any- 
where we  wanted  around  the  cock  pit. 

Cock  fighting  is  quite  an  institution  in  Mexico, 
and  the  breeding  of  the  fighting  kind  an  industry  in 
itself. 

The  different  breeds  or  strains  are  as  well  known 
in  Mexico,  as  horses  are  known  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  breeding  and  training  as  carefully  looked 
after. 

The  ring  or  pit  is  a  circular  affair  much  after  the 
build  of  the  bull  ring,  only  on  a  much  smaller  scale. 
The  pit  itself  was  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter;  a 
fence  three  feet  high  around  it.  and  the  seats  rising  in 
a  circle  above  it. 

The  birds  are  on  exhibition,  one  or  two  at  a  time 
being  allowed  in  the  ring  with  their  owners.  The 
birds  are  allowed  to  walk  around  and  get  a  look  at  a 
possible  opponent  on  the  other  side.  The  match  is 
made;  the  birds  are  each  put  in  a  thin  bag  and  weigh- 
ed. 

After  the  weighing  has  been  accomplished,  quite 
an  exciting  time  is  had  making  wagers  on  the  outcome 
of  the  battle.  Everything  having  been  agreed  to 
about  rules,  both  birds  are  brought  over  to  the  judge, 
who  sits  in  the  ring  close  to  the  fence.  He  has  some 
antiseptic  with  which  he  bathes  the  spurs  and  bills 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  101 

of  each  cock,  then  the  owner  takes  his  bird  and  holds 
it  down  in  front  of  the  other  till  they  are  trying  to 
break  away  and  get  at  each  other.  They  are  then 
let  go  and  either  spar  around  for  an  opening  or  mix 
things.  Very  little  fighting  is  done  with  the  bill;  the 
spur  is  what  inflicts  the  punishment.  With  heads 
down  and  up  and  back  and  forth,  each  one  looks  for  an 
opening  and  generally  ends  by  both  jumping  up  at  the 
same  time  and  using  the  spurs  fastened  on  the  legs  to 
strike  with.  Sometimes  one  might  get  its  quietus  in 
the  first  round  or  heat,  and  sometimes  the  fight  is  long 
drawn  out,  where  bills  and  spurs  mix  indiscriminately, 
and  sometimes  the  fight  may  be  decided  without  the 
death  of  either  or  by  a  draw.  Some  cocks  will  fight  till 
they  fall  and  others  will  (luit  when  things  don't  go 
their  way,  and  some  have  all  the  tricks  of  the  ring 
and  could  give  a  few  pointers  to  some  of  the  human 
gladiators.  One  in  particular,  when  it  became  winded 
let  the  other  pick  away  at  its  comb  all  the  way  around 
the  ring,  taking  all  the  punishment  the  other  could 
inflict  with  its  bill,  and  when  it  got  rested  up  it  turned 
around  and  faced  the  other,  and  after  sparring  a  little 
both  flew  up  and  used  their  spurs,  the  loafer  cutting 
the  other  in  the  neck.  They  sparred  again  and  the 
next  fly  up  was  the  end,  for  the  one  that  did  most  of 
the  fighting  heretofore  fell  down  a  dead  one.  The 
loafing  fellow  cast  a  look  of  contempt  at  its  fallen  foe. 
gave  its  wings  a  flap  and  crowed  as  much  as  to  say,  "T 
told  you  so." 

The  above  is  a  sample  of  what  we  saAV.     Quite  a 


102  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

number  of  fights  took  place  but  they  Avere  all  about 
the  same. 

The  owners  of  the  birds,  when  the  fight  was  on 
were  about  as  much  interested  as  were  the  birds  them- 
selves, and  one  old  man.  eighty  .years  old,  and  who  had 
a  long  flowing  beard  and  looked  more  like  an  Ameri- 
can missionary  than  anything  else  was  grieved  beyond 
measure  because  he  had  a  bird  under  his  arm  and  could 
not  get  a  match. 

We  were  told  that  this  venerable  looking  old  Don 
was  a  breeder  and  fighter  of  game  cocks  by  profes- 
sion.    Alas  for  appearance. 

Well  the  fight  was  over  and  we  had  witnessed 
another  of  the  Mexican  national  sports,  for  next  to  a 
bull  fight  the  native  dearly  loves  a  cock  fight. 

The  difference  between  the  two  sports,  if  they  can 
be  so  called,  is  that  in  the  cock  fight  one  or  both 
usually  leave  the  ring  alive,  but  the  bull  never.  The 
cock  is  fighting  to  show  its  superiority  against  another 
of  its  kind.  The  bull  against  fate,  but  there  you  are. 
You  pay  your  money  and  you  take  your  choice. 

Cockfighting  was  not  the  only  excitement  that 
Sunday.  It  was  the  feast  day  of  the  Saint  whose 
duty  it  was  to  look  over  the  spiritual  affairs  of  the 
town.  The  governor  was  in  attendance,  and  all  the 
other  dignitaries  of  state,  attending  on  the  governor. 
Horse  races  and  sports  of  all  kinds  beloved  by  the 
Mexican  held  sway.  The  Mexican  dandy  was  in  evi- 
dence with  his  sombrero  so  heavy  with  silver  bullion 
that  all  his  wealth  might  be  said  to  be  on  his  head 
instead  of  in  his  pocket.     His  trousers — but  I  think  I 


Bl'lVS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  103 

had  better  call  them  pants — were  buttoned  or  laced 
on  his  legs  and  a  small  cannon  stuck  in  his  right  hand 
hip  pocket  gave  him  the  air  of  a  bold,  bad  man  re- 
formed in  spots. 

The  senoritas  were  out  in  numbers  as  the  very 
presence  of  the  above  mentioned  article  of  the  op- 
posite sex  would  warrant,  but  the  hero  in  the  eyes  of 
all  the  ladies,  young  and  old,  seemed  to  be  the  dash- 
ing horseman,  and  especially  the  winner  in  the  race. 
He  was  surrounded  by  them  and  they  would  have 
made  him  president  on  the  spot  if  they  could  have 
voted    before    the   next    race    came   off. 

Altogether  it  was  a  good-natured  crowd  that  as- 
sembled there  and  they  thoroughly  enjoyed  them- 
selves, and  if  honoring  a  saint  in  Mexico  is  productive 
of  so  much  good  felloAvship,  then  the  catalogue  of 
saints  can  be  increased  very  largel3%  without  injury  to 
the  material  enjoyment  of  the  population. 

The  evening  was  spent  in  the  plaza,  which  was  well 
lighted  and  crowded  by  the  promenaders,  who  were 
entertained  by  the  music  of  a  first-class  band.  The 
governor  was  again  present  and  seemed  to  be  one  of 
the  people.  He  was  evidently  well  known  and  pop- 
ular, judging  from  the  pleasant,  informal  way  he 
greeted  those  who  talked  with  him. 

We  could  have  been  presented,  but  declined  the 
honor  in  so  public  a  place,  especially  as  our  Spanish 
might  show  that  we  were  English  and  our  English 
that  we  were  Americans.  At  all  events,  the  evening 
was  a  pleasant  one,  and  the  natives  did  not  have  all 
the  enjoyment.     We  returned  to  our  hotel  reluctantly. 


104  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

for  while  we  were  in  the  eye  of  the  public,  we  tried 
to  appear  brave  with  the  aid  of  a  twig  of  a  tree  to 
brush  the  mosquitos  off;  but  in  your  own  room  and 
face  to  face  with  them,  then  the  coward  in  one's  com- 
position shows  itself  and  you  wish  the  night  could  be 
spent  in  dreams  of  the  past  events  of  the  day. 

Some  one  has  written:  "The  sadness  of  the 
singer  makes  the  music  of  the  song."  Whoever  wrote 
that  had  never  heard  the  mosquito  sing.  I  tried  to 
think  that  way,  but  I  could  not  find  anything  that 
would  indicate  that  a  single  mosquito  in  the  whole 
chorus  ever  had  a  sorrow  in  all  its  biting  experience. 

I  started  out  to  make  believe  that  we  had  a  very 
nice  visit  and  I  am  not  going  to  spoil  the  impression 
by  detailing  the  hours,  minutes  or  seconds  of  the  night 
and  how  they  were  spent,  merely  remarking  that  I 
looked  as  free  from  the  scars  of  battle  as  any  of  the 
party  when  we  asembled  for  breakfast  the  following 
morning. 

The  town  presented  quite  a  changed  aspect  from 
yesterday.  The  stores  were  open  and  the  business 
life  of  the  streets  was  in  full  blast.  The  donkey  had  its 
load  on  its  back;  the  oxen  were  plodding  along  in  the 
yoke ;  the  vendor  has  his  stand  or  his  basket,  and  the 
men  of  affairs  were  passing  to  and  fro,  and  even  the 
barefooted  youngster  seemed  on  business  bent. 

We  visited  some  of  the  stores  making  purchases 
of  articles  we  wanted  or  that  were  peculiar  to  the 
place,  notably  some  alligator  skins.  It  seems  that 
large  numbers  of  these  animals  are  killed  in  the  sur- 


(1. 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  105 

rounding  swamps  and  rivers.  We  bought  over  a  dozen 
skins,  large  and  small. 

The  gum  of  the  chicle  tree  is  shipped  from  this 
place  in  large  quantities.  The  store-keeper  gave  each 
of  us  a  piece  about  as  large  as  a  base  ball  and  assured 
us  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  chewing  gum  could  be 
flavored  with  a  piece  of  chicle  of  the  same  size. 

Our  hotel-keeper  spoke  English  and  acted  as  our 
guide  around  town,  was  a  good  fellow  and  did  not 
try  to  get  more  than  the  traffic  would  bear ;  saw  that 
our  traps  were  taken  on  board  the  steamer,  and  came 
down  and  saw  us  off,  when  the  steamer  pulled  out  at 
8  p.  m.  on  the  way  back  to  Frontera. 

The  return  trip  was  a  repetition  of  the  coming 
and  we  arrived  at  5 :30  the  following  morning. 

No  boat  would  arrive  for  three  days,  so  we  put 
in  our  time  as  best  we  could.  We  visited  the  American 
consul  and  found  him  well  posted  on  the  country  and 
its  products;  looked  over  a  little  boat-building  plant 
at  the  end  of  the  town  where  Billie  felt  very  much  at 
home,  and  even  commended  the  Avorkmanship  of  the 
mechanics  at  work.  Billie  Avas  suffering  from  a  boil  and 
hadn't  energy  enough  to  get  into  an  argument  and 
that  accounted  for  the  shipyard  not  being  criticised, 
for  he  dearly  loved  an  argument.  George  spent  much 
of  the  time  trying  to  find  new  beauty  and  meaning  in 
an  old  font  in  the  church  across  the  plaza  and  Dick 
just  swore.  I  helped  each  one  out  in  his  special  line 
until  we  got  aboard  the  tug  at  6:45  a.  m.  Friday,  glad 
to  get  away  from  Frontera,  though  we  had  been 
treated  as  well  and  as  often  as  the  place  could  afford. 


106  BITS    OF    OLD    .MEXICO 

We  left  the  tug  and  boarded  the  steamer  Tamaulipas 
at  8  o'clock. 

COATZACOALCOS. 

This  boat  is  a  companion  of  the  Tehauntepec  on 
which  we  came  from  Vera  Cniz,  so  our  accommodations 
were  about  the  same.  We  spent  all  night  on  deck, 
sleeping  when  and  where  we  could  in  preference  to 
the  cabin  berths,  and  the  following  morning  about 
11  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Coatzaeoalcos  at  which  place 
we  remained  some  five  hours.  It  has  a  good  harbor 
and  is  the  terminal  of  the  Tehuantepec  Railway.  It 
was  selected  by  Cortez  on  account  of  its  safe  anchor- 
age for  shipping,  and  no  doubt  became  quite  a  place 
in  after  years,  but  at  present  it  shows  but  the  re- 
mains of  what  it  used  to  be. 

The  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  water-front 
and  railway  station  is  the  only  part  of  the  town  that 
shows  life,  but  the  advent  of  the  railway  and  increas- 
ed shipping  gives  promise  of  a  future  that  is  looked 
forward  to  by  the  population  with  pleasant  anticipa- 
tion. The  hotel  overlooking  the  river  is  everything 
that  could  be  expected  in  such  a  place;  in  fact  we 
were  agreeably  surprised  when  after  some  inquiry  we 
found  we  could  have  chicken,  steak,  vegetables  and  ale 
for  lunch.  This  was  not  the  regular  menu,  of  course, 
but  we  wanted  something  good  and  so  ordered  when 
we  found  it  to  be  had.  This  meal  was  a  great  sur- 
prise to  us  and  came  in  the  right  time,  as  it  was 
about  eating  time  on  the  boat  when  we  arrived.  We 
wandered  along  the  street,  looking  into  the  quaint  old 


BITS    (W    OLD     MEXICO  107 

stores  and  noting-  the  advance  being-  made  in  the 
getting  ready  for  the  new  order  of  things  in  great 
shipping  and  railway  business  that  it  promised.  A 
new  building  of  quite  good  size  was  in  the  course  of 
construction,  and  two  barbers  are  catering  to  the  for- 
eign trade  and  incidentally  abusing  each  other.  But 
this  shows  competition  and  they  really  were  good  bar- 
bers, for  our  party  tried  them  both.  One  of  them 
looked  like  a  negro,  and  the  other  like  an  Indian,  but 
neither  of  them  like  a  IMexican. 

The  population,  including  the  barbers,  may  ap- 
proximate eight  or  nine  hundred.  The  streets  are 
miserable,  and  prosperity  had  better  get  a  move  on, 
or  the  population  will  have  all  its  clothes  worn  out 
sitting  around. 

We  sailed  away  from  the  waiting  natives  about 
four  in  the  afternoon ;  had  dinner  on  board ;  spent  the 
night  on  deck,  and  the  following  day  at  whatever 
part  of  the  boat  that  presented  the  most  shade.  A 
trip  like  the  present  offers  opportunity  for  resolutions 
to  lead  a  better  life ;  at  least,  it  ought  to,  if  the  in- 
dividual is  a  staunch  believer  in  the  old-fashioned 
hereafter.  We  baked  or  stewed  through  the  day  and 
arrived  at  Vera  Cruz  at  6  p.  m. 

Two  things  had  been  determined  on  before  ar- 
riving ;  one  was  to  select  a  new  hotel,  and  the  next,  not 
to  get  the  same  band  of  cargadores  we  encountered  on 
our  last  visit. 

We  made  our  way  to  the  hotel  on  the  plaza  and 
found  it  all  we  expected,  and  before  landing  made 
arrangements  with   a   fellow   passenger   who  lived    in 


108  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

Vera  Cruz  to  see  that  our  things  were  delivered  at 
the  hotel.  We  had  been  glad  to  get  away  from  the 
city  on  our  former  visit,  but  we  were  glad  to  return 
to  it  again,  even  though  we  had  been  compelled  to 
put  up  at  the  home  of  the  retired  pirate.  After  dinner 
we  met  our  passenger  friend  who  had  so  kindly  helped 
us  about  our  baggage,  and  through  him  some  of  the 
engineers  of  the  Mexican  navy.  They  were  Scotch- 
men, and  I  was  surprised  to  learn  that  a  large  per- 
centage in  this  branch  of  the  navy  are  of  that  nation- 
ality. They  are  not  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the 
mother  country  while  in  the  Mexican  government's 
service,  but  do  not  lose  their  citizenship,  and  on  their 
return  home,  assume  their  standing  as  before.  They 
all  seemed  to  be  good  fellows  and  a  very  pleasant 
evening  was  spent  in  their  company. 

The  following  day  saw  us  busy  getting  money 
drafts  cashed,  and  replacing  some  of  the  articles  we 
had  either  worn  out  or  lost,  and  on  Tuesday  morning, 
at  6,  we  took  our  last  look  at  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz 
and  were  on  our  M^ay  to  Puebla. 

Our  thoughts  were  pleasant  of  the  scenery  ahead 
of  us  through  the  lower  levels,  the  banana  and  coffee 
plantations,  Cordoba  and  Orizaba,  up  the  mountain's 
side,  with  a  view  of  the  Maltrata  valley  below,  ap- 
pearing and  disappearing,  as  the  train  enters  a  tunnel, 
or  winds  around  the  mountain  side. 

THE  RURALE. 

The  effect  is  prettier,  if  possible,  coming  up  than 
going  down,  a:s  the  trip  takes  so  much  longer  time, 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  109 

and  more  opportunity  is  presented  to  enjoy  the  chan^«' 
of  scene.  We  arrived  at  Esperanza  at  1  p.  m.  and 
had  lunch.  I  was  careful  not  to  o-et  left  behind  as  I 
did  on  my  former  visit.  A  run  of  a  little  over  two 
hours  and  we  were  at  Apizaeo  where  we  changed  cars, 
and  had  half  an  hour  to  admire  the  rural es.  the 
country  soldiers  or  police.  They  are  armed  with  rifle 
and  bayonet,  or  sword  and  pistol,  depending-  on 
whether  they  are  mounted  or  foot  soldiers.  In  some 
towns  or  stations  they  wear  shoes,  at  other  places, 
sandals,  and  frequently  they  go  bare-footed.  Uusally 
a  squad  of  five  or  six  with  guns  line  up  on  the  plat- 
form and  stand  at  attention  till  the  train  departs; 
but  it  often  happens  that  Avhere  the  train  carries 
second  and  third-class  passengers  a  rurale  is  stationed 
at  the  steps  and  none  but  first-class  passengers  arc 
allowed  to  alight  till  they  reach  their  destination. 

The  venders  of  fruit  and  drinks  deliver  their  wares 
through  the  windows,  and  the  litter  in  some  of  the 
cars  after  a  meal,  is  just  as  well  left  to  the  imagina- 
tion. The  rurale  while  in  many  cases  not  a  thing  of 
beauty,  is  very  useful.  Formerly  it  was  not  the  safest 
thing  to  travel  by  rail  in  Mexico;  then  the  Government 
organized  this  branch  of  the  army,  and  pity  any  outlaw 
who  falls  into  the  hands  of  these  soldiers! 

Some  of  the  bravest  and  most  daring  of  Mexico's 
citizens  are  officers  in  the  rurales.  and  it  is  knoAvn 
that  when  trouble  takes  place,  and  they  are  sent  to 
quell  it,  a  crowd  must  disperse  on  their  approach, 
for  they  shoot  and  shoot  to  kill,  and  so  Mexico  has  be- 
come one  of  the  safest  places  in  the  world  to  travel. 


110  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

because  of  the  distribution  of  these  men  in  the  most 
out-of-the-way  places. 

The  train  on  the  other  side  of  the  station  house 
is  getting  ready  to  pull  out  for  Puebla.  so  we  must 
get  aboard  and  leave  the  rurales  and  the  fancy-carved 
walking  sticks  for  which  Apizaco  is  celebrated.  A 
run  of  an  hour  and  a  half  and  we  are  pulling  into  the 
station  of  the  "Village  of  the  Angels." 

PUEBLA. 

Again  the  cargadores.  but  in  this  instance  it  was 
not  that  we  were  charged  too  much,  but  that  we  had 
to  use  them  at  all.  We  had  been  directed  by  a  friend 
where  to  put  up  and  when  we  approached  the  carriage 
drivers  and  inquired  for  the  hotel  we  had  been  ad- 
vised to  go  to,  they  all  shook  their  heads  and  men- 
tioned another  hotel.  Well,  we  came  to  the  conclus- 
ion that  none  of  the  carriages  from  our  hotel  were 
present  and  that  those  present  belonged  to  a  rival  con- 
cern, and  as  they  did  not  look  at  all  inviting,  we  asked 
a  eargador  if  he  knew  our  hotel,  and  he  did.  This 
confirmed  our  opinion  that  we  were  very  clever  and 
had  solved  the  whole  problem.  We  employed  this  car- 
gadore  and  empowered  him  to  enlist  a  whole  army  of 
assistants,  rather  than  go  to  a  hotel  not  of  our  choice. 
but  he  only  selected  one.  and  after  piling  our  things  in 
two  loads  strapped  them  with  long  straps  they  keep 
for  that  purpose ;  then  putting  the  strap  around  the 
top  of  the  head,  off  they  went  and  we  following.  They 
went  at  a  half  trot  and  it  kept  us  busy  keeping  up 
with  the  procession.     They  trudged  along  block  after 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  111 

block  till  we  began  to  think  they  were  heading  for 
another  town,  but.  at  last,  they  brought  up  at  a  hotel. 
and  deposited  the  baggage  on  the  office  floor. 

They  were  very  reasonable  in  their  demand.  onl\' 
charging  one  dollar  Mexican  for  the  whole  outfit.  A 
lady  made  her  appearance;  v/e  registered  and  were 
assigned  to  rooms  with  two  beds  in  a  room.  After 
taking  in  the  general  surroundings,  wo  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  hackmen  were  probably  correct 
when  they  mentioned  another  hotel,  and  we  soon  dis- 
covered how  it  all  happened.  The  good  friend  who 
had  given  us  all  the  information  about  hotels  and 
places  had  traveled  through  the  country  some  ten  or 
twelve  years  ago.  and  he  had  directed  us  to  the  places 
he  had  put  up  at  in  those  days,  forgetting  that  the 
world  moves,  even  in  Mexico.  True,  the  hotel  where 
we  found  ourselves,  was  comfortable,  but  it  was  away 
behind  what  we  expected  to  find  in  a  city  with  a  poj)- 
ulation  of  125,000  souls.  We  were  located  about  a 
block  and  a  half  from  the  plaza  but  the  street  and 
buildings  were  about  as  good  as  any  the  same  dis- 
tance from  the  real  business  center,  and  the  dinner  that 
Avas  served  had  a  tendency  to  calm  our  ruffled  feelings, 
and  we  concluded  to  say.  "good  enough."  Cigars 
and  a  look  around  the  plaza  completely  reconciled  us 
to  our  present  surroundings  and  conditions.  George 
gazed  longingly  at  the  Cathedral  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Plaza  Mayor,  but  the  hour  was  late,  so  Dick  said 
that  prior  to  the  band  concert  it  would  be  just  as  well 
to  know  whether  it  was  Orizaba  or  some  other  brew 
that  we  Avould  have  to  ask  for.  and  as  he  had  already 


112  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

selected  his  place,  we  all  agreed  to  let  him  act  as 
guide    and   provider. 

Puebla.  like  all  important  cities  in  Mexico,  has 
its  legend  miraculous,  romantic  or  religious.  One 
story  of  its  founding  is  enough.  It  runs  that  the 
Fray  Julian  Garces  desired  to  found  a  stopping  place 
between  the  coast  and  the  capital,  and  falling  asleep, 
dreamed  that  he  saw  a  beautiful  plain  on  the  slope  of 
the  great  volcanoes  with  two  little  hills  about  a  league 
between.  There  were  springs  in  the  plain  and  rivers 
with  abundant  water,  with  trees  and  flowers.  In  his 
dreams  two  angels  appeared  and  measured  the  streets 
and  squares.  The  Bishop  awoke,  and  guided  by  the 
power  that  produced  the  dream,  he  soon  came  to  the 
plain  which  he  recognized,  exclaiming.  "Here  hath 
the  Lord,  through  his  angels  shown  me  the  site  of  the 
city,  and  to  his  glory  it  shall  be  made."  And  so  it  was 
named  Puebla  de  los  Angeles.  Another  commonplace 
account  tells  of  a  number  of  Spanish  families  from 
Tlaxacala  coming  to  the  valley  on  the  16th  of 
April,  1532.  commencing  the  building  of  houses  on  this 
site;  but  the  first  account  sounds  better,  so  we  will 
let  it  go  at  that. 

Puebla  is  pleasantly  situated  at  an  altitude  of 
7091  feet  above  sea  level  and  has  a  population  of  125.- 
000.  It  has  seen  many  ups  and  downs  since  the  time 
when  it  was  only  a  dream  of  the  good  Bishop.  It  was 
captured  by  Iturbide  August  2nd.  1821,  was  occupied 
by  General  Scott,  May  25th,  1847.  during  the  Mexican 
war  with  the  United  States,  was  the  scene  of  the 
victorj'^  of  General  Zaragoza  against  the  French  on  the 


m^ 


1 ___,^j^_r 


MITLA    (pages    l.r,-ld-',) 


BITS    OF    Ol.D    MEXICO  113 

5th  of  May,  1862;  was  captured  by  the  French  in 
1863,  and  was  finally  taken  from  them  by  General 
Diaz.  April  2nd,  1867.  since  which  time  it  has  behaved 
very  nicely,  devoting  itself  to  the  restoration  of  its 
46  churches  that  had  been  battered  about  some  by  the 
carelessness  of  many  invaders.  The  guide  book  tells 
the  truth  about  the  city  itself,  when  it  says:  "The 
city  is  spread  out  on  the  plain  in  the  foreground.  To 
the  West  the  great  volcanoes  of  Popocatepetl  and 
Ixtaecihuatl ;  to  the  North  is  the  mighty  Malintzi  and 
to  the  East  old  Orizaba." 

A  number  of  hills,  large  and  small,  are  scattered 
around  promiscuously,  and  on  the  left,  in  the  distance, 
can  be  seen  the  Pyramid  of  Cholula.  The  streets 
are  good  enough  and  the  buildings  not  bad ;  the  busi- 
ness houses  are  principally  on  the  plaza  and  are  two 
and  three  stories  high.  The  public  buildings  are 
fair,  but  the  churches  are  grand.  They  are  46  in  num- 
ber and  each  one  noted  for  its  color  effect,  the  church 
of  one  saint  being  red  and  that  of  another  yellow,  and 
so  on  through  the  list  of  saints,  or  until  the  colors 
are  exhausted.  The  principal  one,  the  Cathedral  of 
Puebla,  is  said  to  rival  that  of  the  City  of  Mexico  and 
except  in  size  the  finer  of  the  two,  but  I  have  heard 
this  said  about  three  other  churches  in  as  many  dif- 
ferent towns.  Anyhow,  the  one  under  consideration 
was  begun  in  1636  and  consecrated  on  April  18th. 
1649.  It  is  323  feet  long  and  101  feet  wide  and  over 
80  feet  in  the  clear  on  the  inside  and  surmounted  by 
a  dome.  The  old  tower  which  cost  $100,000  contains 
eighteen    bells,    the    largest    of   which    weighs    20,000 


114  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

pounds.  The  great  choir  is  of  stone  and  in  the  center 
of  the  nave ;  it  is  surrounded  by  wrought-iron  gratings 
made  in  1697.  The  carvings  on  the  organ  and  wood- 
work are  of  native  woods  and  supposed  to  be  very  fine. 
The  pulpit  is  carved  from  Puebla  onyx,  and  the  mar- 
quetry work  deemed  a  revelation.  An  inlaid  picture 
of  Saint  Peter  on  the  door  leading  to  the  Bishop's 
seat  is  considered  a  master-piece. 

The  high  altar  was  commenced  in  1789  and  com- 
pleted in  1819  at  a  cost  of  $110,000.  It  is  made  of 
all  the  marbles  in  Mexico  and  the  best  samples  of 
Puebla  onyx.  Beneath  the  altar  is  the  tomb  of  the 
Bishop,  made  by  slabs  of  onyx.  An  um  containing 
the  ashes  of  San  Sabastain  de  Aparicio  and  a  thorn 
from  the  crown  of  Christ  are  the  most  revered  possess- 
ions of  the  Cathedral.  The  other  45  churches  we 
turned  over  to  George  and  Billie,  Dick  and  I  devoting 
our  time   to  more  material   affairs. 

It  was  well  that  we  delegated  the  remainder  of  the 
churches  to  George  and  Billie.  for  George  reported 
having  found  out  some  important  matters  in  the  church 
history  of  Puebla.  and  Billie  certified  to  their  historical 
correctness. 

It  would  seem  that  the  architect  of  the  church 
of  San  Francisco,  having  designed  and  built  a  flat 
arch  roof  in  or  on  the  edifice,  was  afraid  to  take  out 
the  forms  on  which  it  was  built,  and  turned  the  job 
over  to  the  priests,  but  their  faith  was  not  in  roofs, 
and  they  refused  to  take  a  chance.  Some  laborers 
were  called  in,  and  they  got  cold  feet.  It  was  then 
decided  to  set  fire  to  the  supports  and  watch  results, 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  115 

which  they  did.  The  arch  stood  and  is  standing:  to 
this  day,  covering  a  period  of  over  two  hundred  years. 

The  chapel  of  San  Sebastain  is  also  here  and 
they  discovered  that  it  was  he  who  first  introduced 
wheeled  carts  and  oxen  into  Mexico,  and  drove  the 
first  ox  team  between  Puebla  and  Vera  Cruz  in  1542, 
and  in  the  same  year  drove  the  team  to  Zaeatecas. 
This  is  the  gentleman  whose  bones  the  people  of 
Puebla  revere  next  to  the  thorn  from  the  crown  of 
Christ. 

The  town  is  tiles  from  roof  to  basement  floor;  that 
is,  if  they  have  basements.  The  towers  are  tile,  the 
roofs  tile,  the  floors  tile,  many  of  the  walls  inside  are 
tile  and  some  of  the  Avails  outside.  They  are  as  varied 
in  color  as  are  the  churches,  or  the  churches  as  varied 
in  color  as  are  the  tiles;  it  is  one  and  the  same. 

The  onyx  industry  in  Puebla  must  be  large.  We 
examined  in  it  the  rough  and  finish;  it  is  of  a  good 
quality  in  both  instances  and  must  bring  in  quite  a 
revenue,  though  not  expensive  except  to  visitors.  It 
is  worked  up  into  all  shapes  and  sizes,  from  the  pen- 
holder, with  which  to  make  your  will,  to  the  slab  to 
cover  your  vault  when  you  are  laid  away.  It  is 
seulptured  into  statues  of  saints  and  sinners,  in  goblets 
for  wine  and  fonts  for  holy  water,  and  in  all  its  varied 
forms,  is  beautiful. 

The  plaza  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  stores, 
restaurants  and  cantinas.  The  stores  close  about  11 
in  the  forenoon  and  open  again  at  2  in  the  afternoon. 
This  custom  prevails  in  all  Mexican  cities  of  any  im- 
portance, including  the  City   of  Mexico,  and  in   that 


116  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

country  is  a  irood  rule  as  everybody  gets  a  rest  in  the 
heat  of  the  day  and  no  one  loses  any  business  since  all 
stores  are  closed.  Oh !  there  is  one  exception  and 
that  is  the  cantinas. 

PYRAMID  OP  CHOLULO. 

Our  second  day  was  devoted  to  a  visit  to  Cholulo, 
the  onetime  Mecca  of  ancient  Mexico. 

This  was  one  of  our  cherished  pilgrimages.  We 
walked  a  number  of  blocks  to  the  starting  place  of  the 
street  car,  as  it  was  advisable  to  get  seats  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  trip  rather  than  take  chances  of  getting 
accommodations  along  the  streets.  An  outside  car  is 
run  for  the  natives  and  a  covered  one  for  visitors  or 
rather  for  first  and  second-class  passengers.  The  crew 
consists  of  a  conductor,  a  driver  and  two  mules.  We 
took  the  outside  car  and  had  quite  a  time  convincing 
the  conductor  that  we  preferred  it,  and  only  satisfied 
him  when  we  gave  him  a  little  more  than  first-class 
fare. 

The  distance  between  Puebla  and  Cholulo  is  eight 
miles  and  the  ride  not  unpleasant  across  the  Atoyas 
valley. 

An  -arched  aqueduct  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
on  the  right  adds  to  the  interest  of  the  trip. 

The  hacienda  of  San  Juan,  a  stone  building,  on 
the  hill  to  the  left,  is  noted  for  its  having  been  stormed 
and  carried  by  assault  in  one  of  the  many  battles  of 
the  neighborhood. 

Across  a  bridge,  over  the  Atoyac  river,  past 
churches   and   haciendas,   large   and    small,    with    the 


BlTfc    OF    OLD    MEXICO  117 

sound  of  the  bells  on  the  mules  and  the  polite  words 
of  encouragement  of  "mula,  mula"  to  them  by  the 
driver,  or  the  application  of  the  whip  when  they  fail 
to  respond  to  the  coaxing,  and  instead  of  "mula, 
mula,"  "burro,  burro,"  and  the  whip  again,  but 
the  mules,  from  what  I  saw  of  them,  were  perfectly  in- 
different as  to  whether  they  were  Hattered  or  abused, 
the  driver  doing  all  tlie  worrying.  We  made  the  trip 
in  the  schedule  time,  but  found  quite  a  change  in  the 
place  since  Cortez  lirst  stood  in  the  plaza  and  was 
welcomed  by  the  high  priests  of  Cholulo. 

The  founding  of  the  city  and  the  building  of  the 
pyramid,  like  most  of  Mexico's  ancient  history  is  lost, 
if  ever  it  was  written,  but  tradition  says  that  Cholulo 
was  a  city  and  the  pyramid  there  long  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Aztecs  into  the  plateau. 

One  of  the  legends  is  that  it  was  built  by  a  race 
of  giants  descending  from  two  survivors  of  a  great 
deluge  that  overspread  the  land,  and  that  it  w^as  their 
intention  to  raise  its  heights  to  heaven,  but  they  in- 
curred the  displeasure  of  the  gods,  who  sent  forth  fire 
to  destroy  them.  This  is  taken  to  correspond  with  the 
Chaldean  and  Hebrew  accounts  of  the  deluge  and  the 
Tower  of  Babel. 

Prescott  tells  us  something  about  it  but  leaves  it 
about  as  w^e  found  it  so  far  as  anything  authentic  is 
concerned. 

In  early  days  Cholulo  was  the  capital  of  an  inde- 
pendent state,  long  before  the  Aztecs  time,  and  though 
no  one  knows  how  it  happened,  the  city  became  cele- 
brated for  its  very  antiquity  and  religious  traditions. 


118  BITS    OV    OLD    MEXICO 

for  here  it  was  that  the  great  fair  God  paused  on  his 
way  to  the  ocean,  passing  twenty  ^ears  teaching  the 
Toltecs  the  arts  of  civilization,  after  which  he  passed 
on  assuring  them  of  his  return  in  the  course  of  time. 
After  his  departure  the  great  pyramid  was  built  to  do 
him  honor.  On  top  of  this  pyramid  was  erected  a 
temple  in  which  was  placed  the  image  of  the  deity 
"God  of  the  air,"  as  he  was  knoAvn.  The  face  of  the 
image  was  black,  though  the  original  was  white.  He 
was  represented  as  wearing  a  mitre  on  his  head,  wav- 
ing with  flames  of  fire,  a  collar  of  gold  around  his 
neck,  pendants  of  turquoise  in  his  ears,  a  jewelled 
sceptre  in  one  hand  and  a  painted  shield,  the  emblem 
of  his  rule  over  the  winds,  in  the  other. 

The  magnificence  of  the  temple  and  the  sanctity 
of  the  place  brought  thousands  from  the  farthest 
corners  of  Anahuac  to  worship. 

The  worship  became  debased  and  instead  of  offer- 
ing up  flowers  and  fruit,  human  beings  became  the 
offerings,  and  it  is  said  that  6,000  victims  were  offered 
up  annually  on  the  altars  of  Cholulo  and  its  never- 
dying  fire. 

The  great  pyramid  was  177  feet  high,  1,423  feet 
on  each  of  the  four  sides  which  were  facing  the  cardi- 
nal points.  It  was  truncated  in  form,  had  four 
terraces  and  the  platform  on  the  top  covered  more 
than  an  acre.  It  was  reached  by  120  steps  and  also 
by  a  paved  roadway  up  the  west  side. 

At  the  time  that  Cortez  first  entered  Cholulo  it 
was  said  to  contain  20.000  houses  within  the  wall  anfl 
as  many  more  outside  in  the  immediate  surroundings. 


BlTfc;    UP    OLD    MEXICO  119 

Cortez  himself  stated  that  from  the  top  of  the  pyra- 
mids he  counted  four  hundred  towers  and  that  no 
temple  had  more  than  two  towers  and  many  of  tliem 
only  one. 

The  city  that  once  was  the  capital  of  a  great 
people  is  now  a  straggling  town  or  village  of  less  than 
5,000  people.  The  market  place  retains  its  ancient 
name  of  ^'Tianquiz;"  the  plaza  is  old  enough  looking 
to  have  been  laid  out  when  the  pyramid  was  built.  A 
church  on  one  side,  a  military  place,  back  of  which  is 
the  market  on  another,  and  the  main  street  running 
past  the  third;  a  large  fountain  of  stone  and  metal 
from  which  the  people  get  water  is  in  the  plaza,  and  a 
statue  of  Juarez  further  on  and  nearly  opposite  the 
church. 

The  houses  on  the  main  street  are  one-story  and 
only  a  few  on  the  right  near  the  plaza  amount  to  any- 
thing. 

We  climbed  the  pyramid  and  found  a  Christian 
church  occupying  the  site  of  the  former  temple. 
The  view  of  the  surrounding  valley  from  this  point 
is  worth  the  climb  and  while  the  present  town  of 
Cholulo  has  some  twenty  odd  churches,  I  counted  a 
greater  number  than  that  in  the  open  country  from 
the  top  of  the  mysterious  and  wonderful  pyramid  of 
Cholulo. 

We  descended  slowly  and  took  one  of  the  mule 
cars  for  Puebla,  reflecting  on  the  fleeting  grandeur  of 
all  things  human. 

The  evening  was  devoted  to  getting  ready  for  an 


12(1  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

early  start  the  folloMniiir  morning  to  Oaxaca  and  the 
ruins  of  Mitla. 

We  had  become  so  far  at  peace  with  the  carriages 
that  we  engaged  two  of  them  to  call  at  the  hotel  in 
the  morning  and  take  us  to  the  station.  The  carga- 
dores  were  disappointed  I  suppose  when  they  found 
that  we  had  gone  without  their  assistance,  but  the 
carriages  filled  the  bill  and  at  6:15  we  were  on  our 
way. 

From  Puebla  the  railway  descends  through  a 
fairly  good  valley  and  some  small  towns  but  the  first 
place  of  any  importance  is  Tehuacan,  79  miles  out  of 
Puebla,  and  5,408  feet  above  sea  level,  famous  for  its 
pomegranates  and  quinces,  great  quantities  of  which 
they  ship  annually,  but  its  chief  attraction  at  present 
is  the  El  Riego  springs,  about  two  miles  from  the 
town  and  which  is  reached  by  street  cars.  These 
springs  have  the  reputation  of  curing  all  sorts  of 
stomach,  liver  and  kidney  troubles,  and  are  a  guar- 
anteed remedy  for  gall  stones. 

We  had  only  ten  minutes'  stop,  and  the  time  was 
hardly  long  enough  to  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  waters, 
had  we  any  of  the  troubles  they  guaranteed  to  cure. 
Indeed,  I  was  more  interested  in  trying  to  get  a  snap 
shot  of  a  rurale,  who  was  barefooted  and  had  a  patch 
on  his  panties  for  every  state  of  the  union.  I  follow- 
ed him  up  and  down  the  platform,  but  the  place  was 
crowded  and  just  as  I  pressed  the  bulb  of  the  camera, 
fate,  in  the  shape  of  a  small  boy,  butted  in  between  us 
and  I  caught  more  boy  than  rurale  in  the  picture. 

From  Tehuacan  the  descent  is  more  steep  and  the 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  121 

heat  rises  as  the  oh^vation  lessens.  Palm  trees  appear 
and  later  on  immense  fields  of  sugar  cane  are  passed 
through.  We  reach  our  lowest  point  at  Quiotepec, 
146  miles  from  Puebla  and  a  drop  from  there  of 
5,324  feet  and  1.767  feet  above  sea  level. 

From  this  point  we  begin  to  climb,  passing  little 
plantations  that  look  like  oases  in  the  breaks  between 
the  mountains,  until  we  reach  the  summit  at  Las  Sedas 
and  an  elevation  of  6,304  feet.  The  scenery  for  the 
last  40  miles  or  from  Tomellin  to  Las  Sedas  is  grand, 
the  train  winding  around  curve  after  curve,  follow- 
ing a  little  river  between  mountains  of  immense 
height  on  either  side,  huge  cliffs  overhang  the  cars 
and  one  wonders  where  an  opening  can  be  found  to 
get  out,  for  ahead  the  mountains  seem  to  meet,  and  a 
hundred  yards  behind  looks  as  if  it  were  the  start- 
ing point,  so  quickly  are  the  curves  and  so  abrupt  the 
change.  The  steep  mountain  sides  are  bare  and  look 
as  if  some  giant  had  blasted  his  way  between  them,  so 
jagged  and  precipitous  are  the  walls,  and  one  im- 
agines the  giant  gets  stuck  once  in  a  while  and  the 
result  is  tunnel. 

This  ride,  outside  of  the  beautiful  view  of  the 
valley  below,  beats  the  Maltrata,  but  I  must  not  praise 
this  piece  of  mountain  grandeur  too  much,  or  I  will 
have  nothing  left  to  say,  should  nature  have  something 
more  startling  to  present. 

From  Las  Sedas  we  again  go  down  hill  and  are 
soon  passing  through  a  country  of  flowers  and  farms 
that  is  pleasant  to  look  upon.  A  beautiful  flower 
grows  here  in  great  profusion.     It  is  on  a  tree.     Billie 


122  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

told  US  all  about  it  for  I  forgot  to  say  that  Billie  is  a 
botanist  also,  but  he  claimed  this  flower  had  no  right 
to  grow  on  a  tree  at  all,  but  should  confine  itself  to  a 
bush.  I  hunted  the  name  up  and  it  is  spelled  bou- 
gainvillias.  I  think  Billie  would  have  it  a  longer 
name,  but  no  matter  what  it  is  called,  its  colors  of 
crimson  and  pink  in  such  profusion  made  the  front 
gardens  and  other  places  where  it  grew  a  very  pleas- 
ant contrast  to  the  forbidding  though  grand  cliffs  of 
the  Tomellin  canyon. 

The  clouds  began  to  gather  as  we  approached 
Oaxaca  and  when  we  arrived  at  6 :30  there  was  a  thun- 
der storm. 

A  hotel  runner  had  boarded  the  train  up  the 
road  and  we  selected  his  hotel,  because  it  was  marked 
down  for  us  to  take  and  most  of  the  other  tourists  did 
likewise,  as  they  thought  we  knew.  Among  them  a 
noble  lord  and  his  lady,  and  a  gentleman  of  the  life 
guards  and  wife  (who.  by  the  way,  aeted  and  talked 
like  ordinary  mortals). 

Our  hotel  runner  spoke  English,  but  put  us  in  a 
carriage  in  the  Mexican  language,  and  whatever  he 
said  to  the  young  man  who  drove  must  have  impressed 
him  with  the  idea  that  we  were  to  be  the  first  at  the 
hotel,  for  he  drove  us  through  that  thunder  storm  for 
a  distance  of  half  a  mile  at  a  most  reckless  speed. 

The  driver  of  the  noble  lord  must  have  had  the 
same  tip  for  at  the  distance  of  half  a  block  from 
the  hotel,  we  collided  with  them  and  came  pretty 
near  upsetting  their  apple  cart.  We  arrived  at  the 
hotel  at  the  same  time;  went  to  their  carriage  to  see 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  128 

if  the  ladies  were  hurt.  V)ut  thej'  were  right  side  up 
though  somewhat  shaken.  We  found  that  rooms  were 
scarce,  hence  the  race  for  first  place.  When  we  found 
out  the  condition  of  affairs,  we  insisted  on  rooms  be- 
ing assigned  to  the  ladies  first,  a  courtesy  they  about 
as  firmly  refused,  but  it  so  developed  that  the  choice 
was  "Hobson's. "  and  everybody  took  Avhat  was  given 
them. 

We  were  conducted  through  some  halls  and  into 
a  court  or  patio ;  rooms  were  on  all  sides  of  this  court, 
which  was  one-story  high.  The  floors  were  stone  or 
tile  and  the  light  either  a  candle  or  lamp.  My  room 
was  large  enough  but  the  ventilation  did  not  come  up 
to  the  most  modern  ideas.  There  was  a  lack  of  win- 
dows, but  the  door  was  equipped  with  a  wire  netting, 
and  so  we  made  believe  we  were  satisfied,  as  we  were 
to  start  for  the  ruins  of  Mitla  on  the  following  morn- 
ing. 

After  dinner  we  made  arrangements  for  a  car- 
riage for  the  trip  and  then  looked  over  the  town, 
which  impressed  us  favorably,  and  we  felt  sure  that  on 
closer  acquaintance  we  would  like  it.  Our  thoughts 
and  preparations,  however,  for  the  present  Avere  cen- 
tered in  Mitla. 

The  following  morning  found  us  on  time  at  the 
little  station  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  where  the 
mule  cars  start  for  Tule ;  as  at  Puebla.  there  was  an 
open  car  and  a  closed  one  and  again  surprise  was 
shown  when  we  took  the  open  one  in  preference  to 
the  other.  Fortunately  the  man  who  had  hired  the 
team  to  us  was  along,  and  by  paying  the  fare  of  the 


124  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

closed  ear  and  a  little  more  we  arranged  to  have  our 
own  way  and  rode  as  we  preferred.  This  ear  ride 
was  taken  on  advice  of  the  gentleman  referred  to,  as 
we  saved  time  and  avoided  a  very  roeky  road  and  un- 
interesting stretch  of  country;  our  carriage  having 
been  dispatched  earlier  was  to  meet  us  at  the  village  of 
Tule  at  which  place  we  arrived  after  the  mules  had 
been  praised   and   coaxed,   abused   and   whipped. 

TULE  TREE. 

Before  proceeding  on  the  trip  proper,  we  were 
driven  to  the  old  church  yard  in  which  the  famous 
Tule  tree  stands.  To  pass  through  the  village  and  not 
see  the  tree,  would  be  as  bad  as  going  to  Mitla  and  not 
seeing  the  ruins.  This  tree  stands  in  the  church  yard 
of  Santa  Maria  del  Tule,  and  from  what  is  said  of  it. 
was  full  grown  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  and  is  even 
suggested  that  the  builders  of  Mitla  rested  under 
its  shade  on  their  pilgrimage  to  that  other  buried  city 
of  Monte  Alban,  on  the  hill  top  about  four  miles  from 
Oaxaca.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  tree  itself  is  a  whop- 
per. It  is  154  feet  around  the  trunk,  six  feet  above 
the  ground,  ^nd  to  illustrate  its  immense  size  the 
guide  book  assures  you  that  if  twenty-eight  people 
stood  in  a  circle  and  touched  each  other's  finger  tips 
they  could  barely  meet  around  the  tree.  It  looks  more 
like  an  aggregration  of  trees  growing  together, 
though  I  suppose  it  is  all  one.  It  is  not  tall  in  pro- 
portion to  its  thickness;  it  separates  into  many  trees 
or  branches  about  eight  feet  above  the  ground.     It  is 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  125 

evergreen  and  the  leaves  hang  down  something  like 
the  weeping  willow. 

That  this  tree  has  been  celebrated  for  some  time 
is  evidenced  by  a  wooden  tablet  on  which  is  an  in- 
scription, signed  by  Humboldt,  the  German  traveller, 
and  so  long  has  this  tablet  been  fastened  on  the  tree 
that  the  bark  has  grown  around  it  and  covered  from 
sight  part  of  the  inscription. 

Our  carriage  and  four  mules  are  at  the  gate ;  the 
mules  are  dozing  with  one  eye  open.  The  driver 
has  gone  them  one  better  and  closed  both,  but  thtj 
whole  outfit  wakes  up  on  our  approach.  Dick,  Billie 
and  George  get  into  the  body  of  the  carriage,  which 
is  one  of  those  double-seated  cloth  covered  arrange- 
ments with  side  flaps  that  can  be  rolled  up  or  buttoned 
down   as  the  weather  or   inclination   demands. 

I  climbed  in  front  with  the  driver  as  it  left  more 
room  inside  and  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  showing 
him  how  little  I  knew  about  his  native  tongue. 

A  run  of  a  few  hundred  yards,  a  turn  to  the  left, 
and  we  are  on  the  main  road  to  Mitla. 

There  is  no  scenery  to  speak  of,  a  level  valley  for 
some  miles  and  then  the  foot-hills,  and  soon  we  reach 
the  top  with  another  valley  ahead.  The  road,  so  far. 
is  fairly  good,  but  we  would  have  not  taken  much 
notice  of  it  one  way  or  the  other — w^e  were  too  much 
interested  in  what  we  saAV  on  it.  This  was  nomination 
day  in  Mexico,  the  day  when  the  candidates  for  presi- 
dent and  vice-president  were  to  be  named  and  to  be 
named  meant  elected,  and  then  there  could  be  only  one 
man  named  and  that  was  Diaz,  the  greatest  of  Mexi- 


126  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

cans,  and  whatever  else  may  be  said,  the  one  man  who 
has  made  Mexico  wliat  it  is  today.  Well,  everyone  we 
met  on  the  road  felt  the  same  about  it  as  we  did,  and 
they  were  all  on  their  way  to  Oaxaea  to  give  vent  to 
their  feelings. 

Between  Tule  and  Tlacolula  we  met  over  one  hun- 
dred caravans  of  pack  mules,  donkeys,  ox  teams  and 
charcoal  laden  burros,  men  with  loads,  women  with 
bundles,  all  headed  for  market,  some  to  get  rid  of  their 
load  and  others  to  accumulate  one;  here  a  man 
mounted  and  the  family  walking;  there  a  colony  of 
charcoal  burners  and  twenty  or  thirty  burros  carry- 
ing two  or  four  sacks  each,  trudging  along — man  and 
beast  equally  satisfied,  or  indifferent.  A  drove  of  pigs 
seemed  to  call  for  more  energy  than  anything  else  we 
met  on  the  whole  journey.  At  one  place  we  passed  a 
wagon  that  had  broken  down ;  the  wooden  axle  caused 
the  trouble.  It  had  been  laden  Avith  sacks  of  corn 
and  the  driver  had  taken  off  the  load,  packed  it  on  the 
roadside,  tied  his  team  to  the  fence  and  crawled  into 
the  wagon  and  was  sound  asleep.  We  passed  through 
a  drowsy  village  with  a  sleepy  name,  threw  centavos 
to  the  little  ones,  as  a  reward  for  keeping  awake,  and 
on  through  the  cactus-fenced  lanes  of  the  farmer  to 
the  more  pretentious  village  or  town  of  Tlacolula. 
where  we  rested  our  horses  and  regaled  ourselves  on 
whatever  was  obtainable. 

Though  we  were  anxious  to  get  to  Mitla  we 
could  not  leave  without  a  visit  to  the  market  and  a 
look  through  the  old  church  and  school  house,  where 
a  company  of  young  men  are  being  educated,  I  think, 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  127 

for  the  priesthood.  It  is  a  (!olle^e  of  some  kind  and  the 
youths  are  bright  and  clean-cut.  Our  driver  was  wait- 
ing and  ready  when  we  returned  and  off  we  went  on 
a  gentle  down  hill  grade,  the  scenery  improving  as 
we  got  closer  to  the  mountain,  passing  boulders 
on  the  left,  as  if  they  had  been  dropped  from  the 
clouds.  Still  further  on  we  passed  a  formation  of 
absinain  rock  that  seemed  to  be  there  without  ex- 
cuse. Then  down  a  pretty  steep  grade  and  through 
a  stream.  A  rim  of  a  few  hundred  yards  more  and  we 
pull  up  in  front  of  the  only  hotel  in  the  village  of 
Mitla  and  conducted  by  one  Don  Felix  Quero.  We 
washed  down  the  dust  of  the  road;  saw  that  we  were 
assigned  rooms ;  and  were  off  to  the  ruins. 

RUINS  OF  MITLA. 

The  distance  from  the  village  is  not  great.  Leav- 
ing the  hotel  we  went  around  the  corner  to  the  left, 
as  we  were  directed,  through  the  narrow  lanes  past 
huts  and  a  kind  of  a  little  make-believe  store,  again 
to  the  left,  through  another  lane  and  the  bed  of  a 
creek,  a  little  ahead  and  on  the  right,  we  got  the  first 
sight  of  the  buildings  and  care-taker  and  by  the  time 
we  reached  the  spot  where  he  was  standing,  we  were 
in  the  ruins. 

We  tried  him  in  English  but  he  did  not  enthuse 
over  it.  We  tried  him  in  Spanish  and  he  enthused 
too  much,  at  least,  for  us.  but  we  got  him  to  under- 
stand that  we  wanted  to  see  as  much  as  possible  in 
English.  The  procession  was  formed  and  he  led  us 
from  wonder  to  Avonder  in   that  wonderful   place   of 


128  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

desolate  grandeur,  through  underground  passages  and 
courts,  up  massive  stone  steps  to  corridors  of  mosaics 
of  Egyptian  pattern,  through  openings  over  which 
lintels  of  great  mass  Avere  in  position,  and  as  he  led  us 
from  one  to  the  other,  his  only  utterance,  when  he 
stopped  was,  "see  here."  If  it  were  underground 
and  he  used  candles,  he  would  point  to  some  particu- 
laral}'  fine  mosaic  with  the  candle  and  "see  here." 
We  followed  him  without  tiring  though  the  Christian 
church  on  the  hill,  built  on  the  foundation  6T  a  part 
of  the  ruins;  the  church  itself  looking  old  enough  to 
be  included,  to  the  place  now  believed  to  be  the  "sep- 
ulcher"  of  the  kings,  to  the  opening  in  a  hill  to  what 
may  have  been  the  catacombs.  We  did  not  enter  but 
satisfied  ourselves  that  passages  ran  clear  through  it. 
The  guide  was  painstaking  and  conscientious  and 
though  our  Spanish  was  limited,  we  thoroughly  en- 
joyed the  visit,  and  conveyed  to  him  our  approval  of 
his  efforts  in  that  universally  understood  language, 
the  silver  token  of  appreciation. 

The  time  we  spent  was  too  brief  to  write  a  full 
detailed  account  of  all  we  saAv  to  make  it  intelligible, 
and  as  the  niins  have  been  described  and  written 
about  so  much,  I  will  take  one  of  the  many  accounts 
and  set  it  down  here  in  a  condensed  form. 

The  chronicler  takes  you  as  if  he  were  the  guide 
and  says:  "You  now  stand  within  the  graven  walls 
of  a  temple  that  may  be  older  than  Solomon's."        *^ 

I  have  called  them  temples,  and  temples  they 
may  have  been,  raised  to  the  honor  of  the  gods  their 
builders  worshiped,   though   there   is   little   similarity 


'-'^fS^-iJt^y 


'«*l^ 


HALL  OF  MONOLITHS,  MITLA    (pages  121-134) 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  129 

to  the  teocalis  found  in  the  city  of  Tenochtitlan  and 
the  other  cities  of  Anahuac  on  the  plains  of  the  North. 
These  low  Avails  differ  radically  in  their  construc- 
tion and  decoration  from  the  high  p^Tamidal  temples 
of  the  Toltecs,  though  the  absence  of  arches  in  the 
temples  of  Mitla  would  indicate  that  the  builders  were 
of  the  same  school,  as  the  Toltecs  had  no  arches  in 
their  architecture  and  for  the  most  part  avoided  curves 
and  circular  decoration. 

If  not  a  temple,  then  it  may  have  been  a  fortress, 
a  most  impregnable  one.  and  unless  the  instruments  of 
war  were  more  formidable  than  those  of  later  genera- 
tions, or  even  those  of  the  present  day,  the  thick  walls 
would  have  resisted  the  most  persistent  assault.  The 
fortress  idea  further  obtains  from  the  fact  that  there 
are  no  windows  or  other  openings  in  the  walls,  and  the 
only  entrances  open  into  the  inner  square  or  plaza. 
For  these  reasons  the  fortress  idea  is  in  favor.  But 
the  people  of  the  earlier  ages  did  not  need  such  for- 
midable works  of  defense.  The  palace  of  a  king  or  a 
mighty  chieftain  may  have  been  within  these  walls. 
The  Hall  of  the  Monoliths,  a  banquet  hall,  the  cor- 
ridor of  mosaics,  a  royal  bed  chamber,  the  central 
court  might  have  been  the  throne  room  and  audience 
hall,  but  I  adhere  to  the  first  impressions  and  say. 
here  was  a  great  temple.  This  may  have  been  onp 
temple  of  two  or  four  courts  each.  There  are  in  each 
of  the  north  and  south  groups  four-walled  courts 
facing  about  an  open  patio  lying  exactly  at  the  four 
points  of  the  compass,  with  their  walls  on  lines  true 
to  the  needle.     Of  the  southern  group  only  three  of 


130  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

the  courts  have  the  walls  standing.  The  east  wall 
is  in  the  best  condition;  next  the  north,  while  the 
south  is  almost  crumbled  away,  and  the  west  is  but  a 
heap  of  stones. 

The  heavy  cap  pieces  of  the  entrance  to  the  north 
court  are  supported  in  the  center  by  a  huge  column  of 
hewn  stone.  Under  it  leads  a  passage  underground 
that  may  have  extended  to  the  other  courts,  as  there 
is  a  subterranean  gallery  running  the  entire  length  of 
the  court,  east  and  west,  Avith  a  short  extension  due 
north,  under  the  east  court  of  this  group  in  another 
cruciform  chamber.  In  the  north  group,  the  north 
court  is  in  the  finest  state  of  preservation,  and  gives 
ample  evidence  of  the  magnificent  handiwork  of  the 
men  of  a  buried  and  forgotten  race,  whose  civilization 
is  attested  by  the  intricate  carvings  here ;  in  the  shap- 
ing of  these  stones,  in  the  lifting  of  them  from  their 
quarries  and  setting  them  in  their  places,  as  with  a 
mason's  tact  that  all  the  earth's  trembling  have  not 
shaken,  nor  the  warring  elements  effaced  their  grav- 
ings. 

The  north  court  is  built  on  the  same  plan  with 
the  others;  its  walls  are  in  a  most  complete  state. 

The  entrance  of  all  the  courts  open  into  the  open 
patio  in  the  center,  with  no  openings  at  all  in  the 
outer  walls.     There  are  no  windows  anywhere. 

In  the  north  court  and  extending  its  entire  length 
is  a  grand  corridor,  called  the  Hall  of  the  Monoliths. 
Here  are  six  massive  columns,  nearly  seven  feet  in 
circumference  and  twelve  feet  high,  ranging  down  the 
center  of  the  hall.     And  under  the  wall   a   passage 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  131 

leads  to  a  second  larger  room  whose  walls  also  face 
the  compass  points.  This  room  is  surrounded  by  four 
smaller  ones:  the  one  on  the  west  side  being  in  an 
almost  complete  state.  The  walls  are  laid  in  the  most 
intricate  mosaics  of  small  pieces  and  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  unique  designs,  fitted  and  put  together  with- 
out mortar  or  cement.  In  each  one  of  the  courts  of 
all  the  groups  are  niches,  square  faced  with  heavy 
stones  set  in  the  wall  as  if  intended  for  the  shrine  of 
household  gods. 

The  ancient  races  of  this  land  had  no  arches  in 
their  architecture,  as  is  evidenced  by  everything  that 
is  left  of  their  meagre  history,  and  here,  over  their 
square-cut  doorways,  are  magnificent  monoliths, 
twelve  to  eighteen  feet  long,  four  to  six  feet  in  width, 
and  three  to  five  feet  in  thickness.  The  East  court 
of  the  North  group  has  only  part  of  the  front  wall 
standing,  and  two  columns  which  show  that  there  were 
here  also  a  hall  with  monolith  columns;  the  massive 
lintel  that  was  over  the  door  has  been  thrown  down. 

Down  the  hill  towards  the  village,  in  the  midst  of 
some  huts  of  cane,  is  a  modern  discovery,  which  the 
Indians  call  the  "sepuleher."  long  used  as  a  corn 
bin.  It  is  about  eight  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide 
and  below  the  level  of  the  ground.  The  architecture 
and  cutting  of  the  stone  is  exactly  the  same  as  in 
the  larger  ruins  on  the  hill. 

Looking  to  the  south  are  the  walls  that  extend 
to  the  banks  of  the  Rio.  to  the  westward  is  a  pyramid 
of  earth  and  stones  crowned  by  an  ancient  but  yet  a 
more  modern  shrine;  and  across  the  Rio  in  the  midst 


132  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

of  the  village  some  other  pyramids  of  earth  and  stone 
and  loosely  put  tosrether,  yet  withstanding  the  rav- 
ages of  the  elements.  Leaving  the  church,  walk  down 
the  hill  temples  on  the  right,  and  after  crossing  the 
Rio  come  to  the  sepulcher  and  pyramids,  passing 
through  the  village  to  the  main  road  and  turning  to 
the  right,  you  are  again  at  the  hacienda  or  hotel. 

It  is  now  after  dinner  at  the  hospitable  hacienda 
of  Don  Felix  Quero  Village  of  Mitla.  The  meal  was 
a  good  one,  I  suppose,  but  the  dishes  were  passed  in 
a  mechanical  sort  of  a  way.  and  it  might  be  called 
a  meal  of  ruins — ruin  soup  and  ruin  dessert,  and 
antiquary  entrees  between.  The  mosaics  could  be  al- 
most be  felt  between  the  teeth  when  the  frijoles  were 
served,  and  over  the  coffee  Billie  and  George  got  into 
a  wrangling  over  the  question  of  whether  the  ruins 
had  been  temple,  fortress  or  palaces.  The  English  in 
Billie  wanting  it  to  stand  for  palace  and  George's 
early  education  making  him  contend  for  the  church. 
We  finally  got  them  to  leave  the  question  in  abey- 
ance and  let  them  be  known  as  they  are  today — ^the 
ruins  of  Mitla. 

This  was  only  agreed  to  when  the  irreverent 
Dick  threatened  to  prove  that  what  he  had  come  so 
far  to  see  Avas  but  the  remains  of  an  ancient  distil- 
lery. I  had  done  some  heavy  thinking  on  the  sub- 
ject but  could  arrive  at  no  definite  conclusion  as  to 
the  use  of  which  the  buildings  had  been  put  when 
they  were  first  erected.  They  are  certainly  wonder- 
ful in  a  way,  as  they  lie  today  in  view  of  their  sup- 
posed antiquity,  but  the  queries  of  some  writers  about 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  133 

how  it  was  possible  for  the  builders  to  perform  such 
tasks  without  the  aid  of  modern  maehinerj^  is  not 
giving  the  builders  much  credit  on  that  score.  The 
mere  handling  of  the  material,  such  as  placing  the 
lintels  and  the  monoliths,  is  as  nothing  compared  to 
the  task  of  assembling  the  material,  and  the  artistic 
ability  displayed  in  executing  the  design.  The  quar- 
rying, transporting  and  fixing  in  place  of  either  the 
Aztec  calendar  stone  or  the  sacrificial  stone  presents 
something  of  a  difficulty,  but  the  raising  of  the  mono- 
liths and  the  lintels  at  Mitla  are  tasks  that  could  be 
accomplished  at  the  present  day  without  the  aid  of 
machinery,  so-called. 

Mitla  ruins  are  wonderful,  as  all  ruins  of  the 
ancients  are,  for  the  reason  that  we  cannot  bring 
ourselves  to  credit  the  people  who  have  lived  in  the 
remote  past,  with  being  anything  but  savages,  but  the 
mechanic  of  the  past,  I  take  it,  was  a  great  deal  like 
the  mechanic  of  the  present,  good,  bad  and  indifferent. 

The  hand  then,  as  now,  learned  the  cunning  of  the 
craft  in  a  few  years  and  as  the  history  of  the  human 
family,  so  far  as  we  know  has  run  in  eras,  so  certain 
races  or  tribes  have  left  their  mark  on  the  world's 
intellectual  and  physical  progress,  and  it  is  reasonable 
to  assume  that  the  ruins  we  have  discovered  and  are 
discovering  today  are  the  results  of  a  building  age, 
the  necessity  or  conditional  warrant  for  which  has 
ceased  to  exist. 

In  our  present  day  how  many  know  the  arts  of  a 
few  years  ago,  and  how  many  in  the  near  future  will 
be  able  to  perform  any  of  the  many  things  which  to- 


134  BITS    OF    OLD    aiEXICO 

day  are  looked  upon  as  eommonplaee,  simply  because 
of  the  change  in  conditions,  for  instance,  writing  as 
it  is  practiced  at  the  present  time  will  soon  become  a 
thing  of  the  past,  through  the  typewriting  machine  and 
voice  recording  devices,  and  thousands  of  years  from 
now  the  \*orld  will  be  pondering  over  the  mysteries 
of  our  strange  hieroglyphics,  or  mechanical  accom- 
plishments, and  marveling  at  the  strange  civilization 
that  could  produce  such  an  undesirable  condition  of 
affairs  in  habitation,  occupation  and  government. 

After  visiting  Mitla  and  Palenque  and  wonder- 
ing at  what  must  have  been  the  conditions  of  the 
country  and  who  its  people  when  the  ruins  were  first 
erected,  I  will  pass  the  solution  of  the  question  to 
those  who  may  come  after  us,  for  those  who  have  pre- 
ceded have  not  given  the  answer. 

That  the  ruins  are  different  in  character  if  not  in 
age,  I  am  satisfied.  Those  of  Palenque  would  appeal 
to  me  as  the  effort  of  a  hardy  warlike  people,  and 
Mitla  the  product  of  a  more  refined  and  artistic  race. 

Mexico  has  a  long  story  to  tell  some  day  in  its 
ruins,  and  it  is  strange  that  the  day  should  have  been 
put  off  even  so  far  as  this. 

The  village  of  Mitla  is  not  much  in  itself.  The 
best  thing  about  it  is  old  Felix  and  his  hotel.  The 
inner  court  is  pretty  with  flowers  and  birds,  and  the 
covered  porch  or  corridor  surrounding  it  gives  one 
an  opportunity  of  keeping  in  the  shade,  which  is  some- 
thing to  be  grateful  for.  The  bedrooms  are  fronting 
on  one  side  of  this  patio  and  are  comfortable.  The 
meals  are  passing  good  and  the  desire  to  please  un- 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  135 

bounding,  so  it  Avas  with  kindly  feelings  we  took  our 
leave  of  the  cactus  fenced  village,  and  Don  Felix, 
who  in  a  few  short  years  will  become  a  pleasant  mem- 
ory in  the  story  of  Mitla. 

OAXACA. 

We  retraced  our  way  to  Oaxaca  with  pleasant 
anticipation,  as  the  city  had  a  very  inviting  appear- 
ance. 

The  hotel  at  which  we  put  up  had  received  ad- 
ditional guests  since  we  left  and  was  full,  but  it  turn- 
ed out  a  blessing  as  we  were  directed  by  the  carriage 
owner  to  another,  which  proved  in  every  way  super- 
ior and  was  conducted  by  an  old  resident  of  San 
Francisco.  We  were  made  very  comfortable  and 
through  his  kindness  were  placed  in  the  way  of  many 
pleasures  and  privileges  that  otherwise  we  would  not 
have  enjoyed. 

Oaxaca  is  a  city  that  is  enjoyable  from  almost 
any  point  of  view.  Its  people  are  pleasant,  and  its 
buildings  attractive.  Its  history  stirring  and  roman- 
tic. It  had  been  heard  of  before  the  conquest,  but 
it  was  when  Cortez  had  selected  Coatzacoalcos  as  a 
safe  place  for  shipping,  and  dispatched  Valasquez  de 
Leon  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  to  form  a  colony  at 
that  place,  that  Oaxaca  first  got  on  the  map. 

Their  route  overland  led  them  southwest  through 
the  canyons  and  the  valley  of  Oaxaca  and  the  land  be- 
ing reported  good,  Cortez  obtained  a  large  tract  and 
laid  out  plantations  for  the  crown. 

The  estate  prospered  and  many  small  towns  and 


136  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

villages  soon  dotted  the  valley.  Mitla  became  a  pros- 
perous town  and  Oaxaca  its  rival. 

After  a  visit  to  Spain  Cortez  returned  with  the 
title  of  Marquis  of  the  Valley  of  Oaxaca  and  both 
marquis  and  town  assumed  greater  importance  hence- 
forward. 

The  marquis  brought  back  some  nice  new  clothes 
from  Spain  and  Oaxaca  proceeded  to  build  a  cathedral. 

Originally  the  name  of  Oaxaca  was  Huaxyacac 
and  in  the  native  language  meant  ''in  the  nose  of  the 
guajes" — the  guajes  is  a  fruit  tree  in  the  valley  valu- 
able both  for  its  fruit  and  its  wood.  This  was  way 
back  in  1486,  but  when  the  Spaniard  came  he  couldn't 
get  his  tongue  around  the  pronunciation  and  for  a  time 
named  it  Antequera,  because  it  reminded  some  one 
of  his  native  towns  in  Spain,  but  on  the  25th  day  of 
April,  1532,  Charles  the  V,  by  decree  created  it  a  city 
and  Pope  Paul  III,  established  the  Bishopric  of  Oax- 
aca June  21st,  1535. 

During  the  next  two  hundred  years  it  didn't 
bother  much  about  outside  affairs,  contenting  itself 
with  selling  cochineal  and  building  churches. 

The  Cathedral  was  founded  in  1553,  though  active 
work  was  not  begun  on  the  building  until  1610  and 
v,'hen  completed  cost  $2,000,000. 

The  church  of  Santo  Domingo  is  considered  the 
best  in  the  cit}^  and  has  the  proud  distinction  of  hav- 
ing cost  more  money  than  any  other  church  on  the 
continent. 

The   life-size   figures    of   the    saints    are   in   relief 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  137 

and  covered  with  gold  and  the  gold  on  the  walls  was 
so  plentiful  that  the  soldiers  quartered  in  an  old  con- 
vent close  by,  helped  themselves  so  freely  that  they 
didn't  seem  to  care  when  pay  day  came  around,  but 
when  the  church  was  remodeled  by  Bishop  Gillow,  it 
stopped  paying  the  soldiers  involuntary  dividends, 
and  they  had  to  fight  for  a  living. 

The  church  as  it  now  stands  cost  $13,000,000. 

There  are  other  churches  in  the  city,  it  is  needless 
to  add,  but  the  government  and  other  buildings  are 
waiting  for  a  chance,  so  we  Avill  let  the  churches  at- 
tend to  their  own  affairs  for  the  time  being. 

The  state  palace  fronting  on  the  main  plaza  is 
about  the  best  building  in  Oaxaca.  It  runs  the  full 
length  of  the  square,  has  a  large  court  inside  with 
offices  and  quarters  for  the  military.  It  was  built  in 
1883-5. 

Among  other  public  buildings  are  the  municipal 
palace,  built  in  1873 ;  palace  of  justice,  1872 ;  scientific 
institute,  1830;  hospital  general,  1865,  and  state 
library,  1880. 

Then  comes  the  market,  a  block  from  the  plaza 
and  containing  all  the  varied  products  of  the  tropics. 
In  the  midst  of  this  market  is  a  large  ornamental 
fountain  of  cast  iron  and  stone.  It  is  a  circular  affair 
about  thirty  feet  in  circumference;  the  outer  casting 
about  one  inch  thick  and  three  feet  high,  in  the  center 
is  a  fountain  and  betM^een  that  and  the  outer  casting. 
a  stone  floor  on  the  ground  level.  The  water  flows 
rather  slowly  and  does  not  overflow  until  it  rises  about 
two  feet.     The  people  generally  get  their  water  from 


138  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

this  or  similar  fountains  at  different  parts  of  the  city, 
and  it  is  amusing  to  see  ten  or  twenty  persons  of  all 
ages,  with  a  square  tin  can  and  a  string  fastened  to 
one  side  of  it,  stand  around  the  outside  and  throw 
them  down  on  the  stone  floor  inside,  and  as  the  water 
rises  drag  the  can  along  the  bottom  and  whatever 
water  they  collect,  pour  into  an  earthen  jar.  It  takes 
a  long  time  to  fill  their  water  bottle,  and  there  they 
sit  discussing  the  latest  fashions  in  sandals  and  other 
tropical  adornment.  This  is  what  I  called  fishing  for 
water  and  it  comes  as  near  it  as  anything  I  ever  saw. 

In  this  market  in  addition  to  fruit  and  flowers, 
vegetables  and  meat,  you  can  buy  clothing  and  finery 
of  all  kinds,  and  for  one  dollar  Mexican  you  can  be- 
come the  possessor  of  a  pair  of  sandals  made  while 
you  wait,  or  you  can  buy  a  new  sombrero  for  thirty 
dollars  and  instead  of  having  it  sent  home,  place  it  on 
top  of  your  old  one  so  that  everybody  may  know  you 
have  money. 

Oaxaca  unlike  most  of  the  Mexican  towns  has 
some  business  streets  other  than  those  bounding  the 
main  plaza,  or  plazas,  for  there  are  two  in  the  center 
of  the  town.  The  larger  of  the  two,  is  called  the 
Plaza  de  Armas,  having  immense  shade  trees,  a  pro- 
fusion of  flowers  and  fruit  trees  on  which  were  grow- 
ing something  like  grape  fruit.  In  the  center  is  a 
monument  to  Juarez,  who  was  a  native  of  Oaxaca. 

The  smaller  square  is  called  the  Plaza  de  Leon. 
The  two  join  at  the  northeast  corner  on  which  is 
located  the  Cathedral. 

The  streets  are  not  all  that  could  be  desired,  and 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  139 

the  sanitary  conditions  have  not  reached  that  state  of 
perfection,  that  could  be  hoped  for,  but  they  are  busy 
and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  open  gutter  in  the 
center  of  the  street  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 

The  buildings  both  public  and  private  are  com- 
mendable, and  the  population  in  the  main  prosperous 
looking  and  happy.  I  mean  the  last  remark  to  apply 
to  the  business  people.  The  others  look  satisfied  in  a 
barefooted  sort  of  a  way. 

The  city  did  not  always  have  a  population  of  forty 
thousand  souls,  and  this  has  no  reference  to  the  bare 
feet  either,  but  the  number  of  actual  individual  resi- 
dents. 

We  learn  that  in  1560  it  could  only  boast  of  five 
hundred  all  told,  in  1790  it  had  multiplied  to  fourteen 
thousand.  Sixteen  years  later  an  illustrious  son  of 
Mexico,  Benito  Juarez  was  born  in  one  of  its  small 
streets,  and  when  he  was  but  six  years  old,  the  town 
was  called  upon  to  defend  itself  against  an  invading 
army  in  the  war  of  independence. 

On  the  24th  of  November,  1812  Moreles  arrived  in 
front  of  the  city  and  demanded  its  surrender  in  three 
hours. 

The  people  had  remained  loyal  to  the  Spanish, 
but  put  up  a  weak  defense. 

Moreles  captured  the  city  inside  of  two  hours 
after  the  fighting  began.  It  was  retaken  by  the  Roy- 
alists two  years  later,  and  back  and  forth  a  number  of 
times,  when  the  warring  factions  were  not  busy  else- 
where, until  the  war  was  over. 

The  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  the  city  of 


140  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

Oaxaca,  however,  oeeured  on  the  15th  of  September, 
1830,  when  "the  man  of  Mexico"  Porfirio  Diaz,  her 
most  illustrious  son  was  born  in  La  Callede  Soledad 
number  ten. 

Diaz  studied  law  under  Juarez  but  their  battles 
for  the  most  part,  though  perhaps  legal  were  in  the 
field.  They  fought  together  for  a  common  cause,  and 
it  is  hard  to  say  which  of  the  two  names  is  most  dear 
to  the  hearts  of  the  people  today. 

The  house  where  Diaz  was  bom  had  been  torn 
down  and  a  school  erected  on  the  site,  but  the  room 
in  which  that  important  event  took  place  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  building. 

Another  house  with  a  history  is  pointed  out  in 
which  Juarez  wrote  the  Mexican  constitution,  and  the 
city,  in  1872,  changed  its  official  name  to  that  of  Oax- 
aca de  Juarez  in  his  honor. 

Our  two  days'  visit  was  all  too  short  but  we  were 
anxious  to  be  on  the  way,  and  after  an  all  day  ride 
found  ourselves  again  in  Puebla,  remaining  over  night 
and  at  six  the  following  morning  started  on  our  re- 
turn to  the  City  of  Mexico. 

We  arrived  on  time  at  seven  p.  m.  and  at  our 
hotel  received  mail  and  papers  from  San  Francisco; 
devoted  the  following  day  to  assembling  our  traps  and 
getting  ready  to  visit  the  show  city  of  Mexico,  Guad- 
alajara. 

George  found  that  he  was  needed  in  San  Francis- 
co on  business  so  he  devoted  the  last  day  to  visiting  as 
many  of  the  churches  as  possible,  and  Billie  accom- 
panied him  to  one  or  two  on  account  of  some  dispute 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  141 

concerning  the  height  of  an  altar  or  the  number  of 
shrines.  I  don't  remember  Avhich.  but  whatever  it  was 
Billie  promised  George  that  he  would  demonstrate  the 
error  of  his  contention  when  we  again  met  in  our 
home  city. 

GUADALAJARA. 

At  seven  p.  m.  we  took  train  for  Guadalajara, 
arriving  at  Irapuato  about  three  p.  m.,  changed  cars 
and  at  nine  in  the  morning  were  in  the  station  of 
Mexico 's   show  town. 

We  engaged  a  cargador  and  told  him  to  get 
more  help  and  bring  our  traps  to  the  hotel.  "We  waited 
around  to  see  that  he  was  attending  to  our  wants 
and  what  was  our  surprise,  M^hen  he  passed  out  of  the 
station  with  every  piece  of  baggage  belonging  to  us 
strapped  together  and  all  on  his  back.  "We  followed 
but  he  was  at  the  hotel  before  us. 

I  asked  the  proprietor  how  much  we  ought  to  pay 
and  after  looking  at  the  number  of  pieces  told  us  we 
ought  to  give  him  fifty  cents,  and  when  we  gave  him 
a  dollar  the  cargador  was  the  most  thankful  fellow 
in  seventeen  counties.  What  a  change  from  Vera 
Cruz.  There  it  was  ten,  and  here  was  one  doing  prac- 
tically the  same   amount   of  work. 

The  first  impression  of  the  town  received  through 
the  caragador.  was  good  and  I  am  pleased  to  say 
that  on  no  occasion  did  we  have  to  change  it  after. 
The  hotel  was  good  and  the  proprietor  knew  his  bus- 
iness and  soon  put  us  in  the  way  of  seeing  things,  and 
in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  hours  we  had  taken  in  the 


142  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

principal  places  of  attraction  and  were  on  our  way  to 
San  Pedro,  one  of  the  suburbs. 

We  had  two  objects  in  this  side  trip,  one  was  to 
see  the  pottery  works,  the  other  to  visit  the  Indian 
sculptor,  Juan  Panduro,  of  whose  work  we  had  heard. 

The  village  is  reached  by  electric  street  cars  and 
the  run  over  what  is  known  as  the  Calzada  de  San 
Pedro  is  interesting.  The  road  is  shaded  by  trees, 
and  the  end  is  reached  before  one  has  really  settled 
down  to  enjoy  it. 

The  wealthier  class,  it  seems,  make  their  summer 
residence  there  and  that  accounts  for  the  good  houses 
we   had   noticed. 

We  took  a  general  look  over  the  place,  which 
takes  but  a  short  time,  a  hurried  look  over  some  of  the 
products  of  the  pottery,  and  then  had  about  half  a 
dozen  children  show  us  the  place  of  the  sculptor.  He 
was  home  and  after  a  few,  a  very  few  words  of  con- 
versation of  a  general  character,  I  arranged  for  him 
to  make  me  in  ela}'.  He  seated  me  in  a  chair  and 
walked  around  once  or  twice  and  looked  at  me  verj' 
closely,  meanwhile  making  half  audible  remarks,  and 
I  took  it  that  he  was  informing  himself  of  the  hard 
job  ahead  of  him.  He  retired  to  another  room  and 
returned  with  a  lump  of  black  clay,  and  standing  be- 
fore me  made  some  further  remarks,  gave  the  clay  a 
few  turns,  pulled  out  a  piece  of  it  that  was  to  repre- 
sent my  nose,  jammed  the  sides  in  where  my  cheeks 
were  to  be,  pulled  down  a  chunk  that  was  to  be  my 
chin,  took  a  little  wooden  paddle  and  swatted  the  cl^.v 
on  top  where  my  hair  would  soon  be,  then  he  gouged 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  143 

out  a  couple  of  pieces  where  my  eyes  were  to  be, 
scraped  a  little  from  the  back  of  the  neck  and  stuck  it 
on  either  side  for  ears,  grabbed  another  piece  and 
stuck  it  on  below  the  head,  and  gave  a  grunt  of  satis- 
faction. The  actual  work  then  began.  He  now  put 
on  his  spectacles  and  gave  me  a  couple  of  looks,  fixed 
my  mouth  on  straight  and  proceeded  with  his  little 
wooden  instrument  to  pick  and  scrape,  pat  and  rub 
here  and  there,  moving  around  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  and  changing  my  position  once  in  a  while. 
This  continued  for  about  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  I 
inquired  if  I  was  finished.  He  informed  me  that  I 
was  not  half  made,  and  hardly  knew  how  to  take 
his  meaning,  but  when  he  showed  me  the  clay  I  could 
see  he  did  not  intend  to  be  insulting.  I  was  tired  sit- 
ting, however,  and  we  agreed  that  he  should  come  to 
the  hotel  in  Guadalajara  and  finish  me,  which  he 
did.  Dick  and  Billie  looked  on  quite  a  portion  of  the 
time  and  when  it  was  completed  pronounced  it  a 
splendid  work  considering  the  subject.  It  really  was 
perfect,  so  far  as  the  modeler's  work  was  concerned, 
and  for  all  his  effort  he  only  charged  fifteen  dollars 
Mexican. 

Juan  Panduro  is  a  wonder  in  that  he  is  the  only 
Indian  who  has  gained  a  reputation  as  a  modeler. 
He  is  now  over  sixty  and  has  a  large  family.  One  of 
his  sons  followed  in  his  profession,  but  has  never 
made  a  name  for  himself.  The  old  artist  will  soon  be 
gone,  and  I  am  pleased  to  be  in  possession  of  a  sample 
of  his  handicraft. 

The  home  of  Panduro  is  much  like  that  of  his 


144  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

neighbors.  It  is  of  adobe,  his  studio  in  the  front.  In 
the  rear  is  a  patio  and  his  family  rooms.  He  is  ap- 
parently a  lover  of  flowers,  for  he  has  many  growing, 
and  the  little  ones,  possibly  his  grandchildren,  like 
to  pluck  them  and  present  them  to  visitors.  San 
Pedro  outside  of  the  clay  industry  is  not  much,  but 
with  the  pottery  modelling  cups  and  saucers  and  old 
man  Panduro  modelling  "mugs."  the  place  has  quite 
a   reputation. 

Guadalajara  has  a  population  of  150.000  and  is 
said  to  be  the  cleanest,  brightest  and  most  delightful 
city  in  the  country.  It  was  founded  in  1541  after  two 
former  sites  had  been  abandoned.  It  is  located  in  the 
midst  of  a  plain  that  rises  on  three  sides  in  terraces 
toward  the  mountains.  The  west  leads  to  the  Tierra 
Caliente,  where,  as  the  guide  book  informs  you.  the 
mountains  seem  to  cease  and  the  plain  and  sky  come 
together.  It  is  famous  for  its  clean  streets,  its  beau- 
tiful parks  and  plazas,  churches  old  and  rich  in  archi- 
tecture and  decoration,  and  boasts  of  the  finest  theatre, 
the  DegoUado.  and  claims  for  it  the  distinction  of  being 
the  largest  on  the  continent,  excepting  the  Metropoli- 
tan in  New  York  or  the  Auditorium  in  Chicago.  It 
was  opened  in  1866,  and  has  five  tiers  of  seats,  stalls 
and  boxes,  and  the  decorations  are  certainly  good 

The  streets  run  at  right  angles,  intersecting  the 
parks  and  plazas,  some  twenty  in  number.  There  are 
fourteen  portales  that  cover  the  sidewalks  for  blocks. 
There  are  bridges  without  number  and  churches 
galore.  The  public  buildings,  outside  the  theatre  and 
Cathedral,   are   the   governor's  palace,   the   mint,   the 


'■^' 


» 


liClN.S  OF  MITLA   (pages  l.r,-l  i',) 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  145 

state  capitol  of  Jalisco,  the  hospicio  and  the  peniten- 
tiary. The  paso  is  a  boulevard  on  both  sides  of  the 
Rio  San  Juan  de  Dios. 

The  business  streets  resemble  those  of  the  United 
States  more  than  any  other  Mexican  town,  and  the 
stores  are  good.  The  general  characteristic  of  the 
architecture  is  Mexic^m.  That  the  inhabitants  may  not 
go  unwashed,  it  has  twenty-five  bath  places,  and  for 
dining  and  sleeping  purposes  it  has  twenty-eight 
hotels. 

It  would  take  as  long  a  time  to  describe  the  city 
properly  as  we  remained  in  it,  and  so  I  will  just 
mention  a  few  of  the  institutions  or  buildings  in  which 
they  take  most  pride. 

The  Cathedral  comes  first.  The  original  one  was 
built  in  1548  and  was  a  thatched  hut.  The  present 
one  was  commenced  in  1561  and  completed  in  1618. 
The  towers  were  thrown  down  by  an  earthquake  in 
1818  and  the  clock  towers  were  badly  injured  at  the 
same  time,  but  are  all  right  again.  The  towers,  as  they 
now  stand,  are  not  Mexican,  but  spires  or  steeples. 
In  one  of  these  is  a  little  bell  that  was  rung  only  on 
important  occasions.  Another  which  in  former  times 
was  rung  in  thunder  storms  to  ward  the  lightning  off. 

The  interior  is  rich  in  decorations  and  has  many 
valuable  paintings,   one   especially  noteworthy. 

The  Assumption  by  Murillo,  for  which  the  church 
was  offered   $75,000   gold. 

One  of  the  institutions  that  Guadalajara  is  justly 
proud  of  is  the  hospicio.  It  is  of  light  colored  stone 
and  one  story  high,  but  covers  a  whole  block.     It  con- 


146  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

tains  twenty-three  courts  with  fountains  and  flowers. 
It  is  managed  under  state  authority  and  admits  chil- 
dren and  old  people  of  both  sexes,  the  sick  from  the 
penitentiary  and  the  sick  of  the  city.  The  children 
as  they  grow  up  are  taught  trades  or  some  way  of 
making  a  living.  The  girls  do  lace  Avork  and  em- 
broidering, Avhieh  is  sold  to  help  run  the  institution. 
It  has  800  beds  and  was  built  in  1791. 

We  visited  one  of  the  bathing  establishments  in 
the  same  Imilding  as  our  hotel.  Whether  it  was  a 
part  of  it  or  not,  I  don't  know  but  the  manager  show- 
ed us  through,  and  I  must  say  anything  more  complete 
for  the  purpose  could  hf^rdly  be  imagined.  There  were 
baths  of  all  kinds  from  the  Turkish  to  the  plunge 
and  everything  in  perfect  order. 

The  street   car  service   was   good   Avith   overhead 

trolley,  and  good  sized  American  built  cars,  and  taking 

it  all  in  rU,  after  seeing  the  other  Mexican  cities,  we 

were  delighted  Avith  Guadalajara  and  its  attractions. 

A6UAS  CALIENTES. 

Started  next  morning  at  8:55  on  our  way  for 
home,  changed  cars  at  Irapuato  at  4:10  p.  m.  and 
arrived  at  the  hot  water  town  at  10:30  that  night. 
We  were  met  at  the  depot  by  some  hotel  runners  and 
as  there  was  but  one  hotel  that  amounted  to  much, 
we  were  taken  in  charge  and  bundled  up  town,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  half  a  mile.  We  were  tired,  and  the 
town  was  asleep,  so  we  proceeded  to  get  in  the  same 
condition  as  soon  as  possible. 

Next  morning  we  were  up  early  and  on  our  tour 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  147 

of  inspection,  and  when  we  left  were  satisfied  with  the 
results  of  our  visit. 

The  town  was  founded  October  22nd,  1575,  and 
has  at  the  present  time  a  population  of  some  38,000. 
About  30,000  of  them  are  directly  or  indirectly  inter- 
ested in  drawn  work,  for  which  the  town  is  famous. 
How  this  place  came  to  be  a  center  for  linen  work 
I  have  not  learned,  for  they  do  not  manufacture  it, 
but  the  amount  that  is  sold  of  this  beautiful  work  in 
the  city,  and  the  still  greater  amount  shipped  out  of 
it,  is  wonderful.  All  that  is  sold  in  the  town  for 
drawn  work  is  not  made  there,  but  by  machinery 
elsewhere,  and  if  you  care  to  watch  the  native  at  the 
station  selling  to  the  passengers  as  the  train  stops  for 
a  few  minutes,  you  can  learn  some  of  the  tricks  of  the 
trade. 

The  venders  are  not  allowed  on  the  platform,  but 
stand  in  a  row  alongside  a  low  platform  fence.  The 
passengers  walk  along  the  platform  and  examine  the 
work.  A  beautiful  piece  of  really  good  work  is  held 
out  in  front  of  a  number  of  other  pieces.  The  cus- 
tomer examines  it  and  inquires  the  price.  The  pur- 
chaser knows  that  about  twice  the  worth  of  the  ar- 
ticle is  going  to  be  asked,  and  thereupon  offers  less 
than  half.  The  vender  knows  just  as  well  that  only 
one-half  of  what  is  asked  is  going  to  be  offered  so 
there  you  are,  but  here  is  what  very  often  happens. 
After  the  price  is  offered  by  the  would-be  buj^er,  the 
man  with  the  goods  talks  quite  a  little  showing  its 
beauty,  and  from  a  number  of  other  pieces  substitu- 
tes one  looking  almost  like  the  piece  under  considera- 


148  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

tion,  and  after  some  more  bargaining,  ends  by  letting 
it  go  for  what  he  can  get  for  it.  The  passenger  hurries 
to  catch  the  train  and  when  Mrs.  Jones  is  showing 
Mrs.  Brown  her  lovely  purchase  and  how  cheap  she 
got  it,  she  will  have  a  machine  made  thing  of  beauty 
and  will  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  peddler  was 
not  such  a  fool  as  he  looked.  This  only  goes  to  prove 
that  the  work  is  worth  imitating,  for  from  what  I  can 
learn  some  of  the  most  beautiful  work  of  this  kind  is 
made  in  Calientas.  There  are  schools  and  convents  in 
the  town,  devoted  to  teaching  the  art,  and  in  these 
and  some  reputable  stores  and  semi-public  families, 
one  may  freely  purchase,  knowing  that  what  they  buy 
is  what  it  is  represented  to  be. 

I  was  first  informed  of  all  the  above,  and  verified 
it  afterwards. 

The  hot  springs  that  gave  the  city  its  name,  are 
located  across  the  railway  track.  A  street  car  runs 
to  the  entrance.  At  the  office  you  arrange  about  the 
temperature  of  bath  you  desire  and  you  are  led  up 
a  little  incline  and  around  the  corner  where  you  are 
shown  your  number,  you  step  inside  and  lock  the  door, 
and  find  yourself  in  a  fair  sized  room,  in  which  is  a 
lounge.  At  the  far  end  is  a  square  bath  about  five 
feet  by  eight,  lined  with  tile  on  the  sides  and  bottom. 
The  water  is  reached  by  a  few  steps  and  is  about  knee 
deep  or  more.  It  remains  that  way  as  the  overflow  is 
regulated,  and  the  amount  of  water  flowing  in  keeps 
it  at  the  same  temperature  all  the  time.  You  are  sup- 
plied with  towels  and  a  piece  of  soap  and  a  little 
loose  hemp  to  wrap  it  in  and  srub  with  if  you  so  de- 


BITS    OV    OLD    MEXICO  149 

sire.  The  water  is  supposed  to  have  curative  qualities, 
and  whatever  is  the  matter  with  you,  that's  what  it  is 
good  for. 

After  bathing  you  wrap  yourself  up  in  the  bath- 
robe and  rest  on  the  lounge,  or  dress  as  you  elect, 
but  in  any  ease  the  baths  are  good  and  refreshing. 

The  water  of  all  degrees  of  heat  that  flow  from 
the  springs,  whether  used  for  bathing  or  not,  finds  its 
way  into  a  ditch,  and  flows  to  the  town.  Close  to  the 
railway  track  two  bath  houses  are  erected,  one  on 
either  side  of  the  road  and  the  men  take  their  tub  or 
plunge  in  one  place  and  the  women  in  the  other,  free 
of  charge.  They  used  to  bathe  in  the  open  ai:<!  do 
their  washing  at  the  same  time,  but  a  wash  place  ba(  k 
of  the  bath  houses  affords  more  seclusion  if  they  wish 
to   wash  and  wait  for  the   drying. 

The  city  itself  is  best  seen  by  walking  from  the 
depot  about  half  a  mile  up  a  street  of  one-story  build- 
ings, with  occasional  tM^o  story  business  houses  or 
hotels  on  the  corner.  You  then  arrive  at  the 
main  square.  On  the  left  is  the  governor's  palace, 
state  house  and  casa  municipal  or  city  hall.  They  are 
old-looking,  but  in  good  repair.  The  portalos  present 
quite  a  pretty  picture  with  clothing  of  all  descriptions 
hung  up  or  piled  up  for  sale. 

The  plaza  is  large  and  has  many  trees  and  flowers. 
In  its  center  is  a  tall  monument,  that  used  to  have  a 
statue  of  Ferdinand  VII,  but  in  one  of  their  three-for- 
a-quarter  wars  Ferde  Avas  upset  and  they  never  mus- 
tered sufficient  energy  to  set  him  up  again,  so  they  just 


150  BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO 

use  the  monument  for  putting  tablets  on,  telling  of 
past  events  that  they  don't  want  to  forget. 

The  market  is  very  good  and  presents  a  busy 
appearance,  and  the  overflow  tradespeople  sit  on  the 
sidewalk  and  sell  all  sorts  of  staples  from  live  chickens 
to   corn,   wherewith   to   feed   them. 

The  churches  are  well  represented,  but  I  did  not 
find  a  single  one  in  all  the  town  that  laid  claim  to  one 
of  the  most  important  in  Mexico,  still  they  swell  up 
with  pride  when  they  point  to  the  parish  church  with 
its  paintings  by  Andreas  Lopez  in  1797,  and  the  Ador- 
ation of  the  Magi  by  Jose  de  Alzibar  in  1775,  and  the 
church  of  the  Encino  boasts  the  best  paintings  of  the 
Stations  of  the  Cross  in  Mexico,  so  that  is  going  some. 

We  remained  two  days  and  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  its  history  and  about  two  hundred  dollars  worth  of 
drawn  work. 

Oh,  there  is  one  thing  in  Aguas  Calientas  that  is 
claimed  to  be  the  best  in  Mexico  and  that  is  its  cats. 
The  hotel  where  we  stayed  is  conducted  by  a  lady 
and  she  leads  a  dogs  life  watching  her  feline  pets. 
They  are  Angoras  and  for  one  particular  cat  she  has 
been  offered,  and  refused,  three  thousand  dollars  in 
gold.  If  she  refuses  that  for  one  cat's  life  what  must 
she  ask  for  the  other  eight.  But  the  above  are  facts. 
She  has  her  cats  insured  and  they  have  taken  first 
prize  wherever  they  have  competed,  and  as  she  said 
herself,  while  she  is  doing  such  a  business  as  that 
there  is  no  fear  of  her  going  to  the  dogs,  still  I  am 


BITS    OP    OLD    MEXICO  151 

inclined  to  the  belief  that  what  she  charges  her  guests 
helps  to  buy  some  cat  meat  also. 

Aguas  Calientes  in  the  more  practical  affairs  of  life 
is  noted  for  its  woolen  mills,  and  one  of  the  lar- 
gest smelting  plants  in  the  country.  The  Mexican 
Central  has  its  workshops  here,  emplojning  a  large 
force  of  men,  so  that  needles  and  hot  water  are  not 
the  only  source  of  revenue.  The  climatic  and  sanitary 
conditions  of  the  place  caused  the  railway  people  to 
erect  their  general  hospital  near  the  station  at  a  cost 
of  some  $200,000. 

Had  we  remained  a  few  days  longer  we  would 
have  been  in  the  midst  of  the  fiesta  de  San  Marcos  for 
which  the  toAvn  was  preparing,  but  two  days'  time  was 
all  we  could  spare  and  so  at  7  a.  m.  the  second  day  of 
our  visit  we  took  the  train  and  settled  down  to  enjoy 
the  scenery  on  our  homeward  trip. 

A  run  of  about  three  hours  and  we  are  at  Zac- 
atecas,  after  struggling  up  hill  for  the  last  hour  of 
the  trip,  but  the  climbing  and  zig-zagging  around 
was  worth  the  while  for  the  approach  is  one  of  the 
sights  that  will  linger  in  memory.  The  town  itself 
is  in  a  gulch  and  can  be  seen  and  lost  many  times 
before  arriving  at  the  station.  Attention  is  called  to 
it  by  the  guide  book  as  being  away  up  an  immense 
gulch  and  where  the  flat  top  houses,  the  domes  and 
towers  seem  to  have  slidden  doAvn  from  both  the  hills 
till  it  is  filled  half  way  up  on  the  other  side,  and 
straggling  out  the  mouth  of  it  down  to  the  plain  where 
Guadalupe  is.  The  place  itself  is  about  the  last  on 
earth    a    person    would   expect   to   find   a   town.     The 


152  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

country  around  about  it  is  not  a  thing  of  beauty, 
being  desert  or  mountain  and  one  would  imagine  the 
thing  impossible  at  first  glance,  but  there  it  is  and 
after  getting  a  few  glimpses  of  it  here  and  there  as  we 
approach,  the  beauty  of  it  all  becomes  more  and  more 
impressed  on  the  mind  and  we  tried  to  keep  it  in  view 
every  moment  of  the  journey  upward. 

When  the  train  stops  at  the  station  the  best  view 
is  gone  and  only  in  the  distance  can  be  seen  a  por- 
tion of  what  is  perhaps  the  greatest  mining  center  in 
all  Mexico.  Close  to  the  station  and  scattering  around 
are  little  adobe  places  mostly  walls  and  apparently 
deserted.  A  little  level  country  and  then  the  rising 
ground  for  a  mile  or  so  and  back  and  beyond  are  the 
mountains. 

The  town  has  been  the  scene  of  mining  since 
1546  and  statistics  give  its  output  since  that  time  at 
$700,000,000  and  even  now  its  annual  yield  in  silver 
is  about  $3,000,000.  It  has  a  population  of  50,000 
and  seems  to  be  a  little  world  all  to  itself,  and  its 
elevation  of  8,000  feet  is  about  as  high  as  Ave  reached 
in  any  of  the  cities  of  Mexico. 

The  natives  were  around  the  platform  with  bas- 
kets and  curios,  and  you  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  you  would  like  your  baggage  set  down  and  spend 
a  few  days,  when  away  you  go  down  and  around 
through  soil  almost  blood  red  and  cactus  like  gar- 
dens. Gradually  the  mountains  fade  away  and  cactus 
seems  to  take  possession  of  the  whole  earth. 

We  passed  through  much  uninteresting  country 
and  finally  useful  vegetation  began  to  show,  and  the 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  153 

possibility  of  raising  a  sheep  or  cow  becomes  encour- 
aging, and  the  nearer  we  got  to  Torreon  the  more 
promising  became  the  land,  the  territory  surround- 
ing this  and  Gomez  Palacio  is  said  to  be  the  center 
of  the  cotton  industry. 

Gomez  Palacio  is  about  three  miles  nearer  home, 
and  where  they  manufacture  soap,  I  think  largely 
for  export.  Here  also  are  oil  and  cotton  mills.  Pop- 
ulation about  8,000.  We  lost  the  daylight  and  the 
scenery  at  the  last  named  station. 

When  we  awoke  tflie  next  morning  we  were  get- 
ting close  to  Chihuahua.  AA'hich  we  get  a  glimpse  of  as 
the  train  passes  between  the  station  and  the  shops. 
The  town  itself  is  not  close  to  the  track,  but  there  are 
houses  and  people  enough  around  to  give  one  that 
impression. 

Chiluahua  is  the  capital  of  that  state  and  has  a 
population  of  some  40,000  and  is  noted  among  other 
things  for  the  larpe  number  of  small  dogs  it  raises. 
It  has  for  years  been  the  chief  distributing  point  for 
northern  Mexico  and  on  that  aceount  alone  is  becom- 
ing largely  Americanized.  The  twenty  minutes  we 
stopped  did  not  give  us  a  chance  to  get  acquainted  with 
the  people  to  any  large  extent,  nor  even  to  buy  a  dog. 
although  they  were  in  evidence.  The  conductor  in- 
formed us  that  the  breed  was  local,  but  the  price  and 
fame  national,  and  that  each  dog  was  guaranteed  to 
take  a  bite  out  of  the  leg  of  a  hobo  as  large  as  itself. 
We  weren't  bit  because  we  didn't  buy. 

The  country  north  to  Juarez  has  a  great  future 


154  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

for  stock  raising,  so  some  one  told  us,  but  the  mining 
industry  is  in  the  lead  up  to  the  present. 

The  native,  as  we  found  him  after  leaving  Chi- 
huahua, is  not  a  thing  of  beauty  as  compared  with  the 
southern  product  and  the  nearer  the  approach  to 
Juarez  the  more  desirous  we  were  of  crossing  the 
bridge  and  again  tread  the  streets  of  El  Paso  and  hear 
some  one  ask  us  ' '  what  are  you  going  to  have. ' ' 

We  were  met  down  the  road  by  the  custom  offi- 
cers, and  our  hand  baggage  inspected  and  in  a  short 
time  after  our  arrival  had  our  other  effects  looked 
over  at  the  custom  house,  and  were  given  a  clean  bill 
of  health  as  it  were. 

All  that  we  purchased  in  Mexico  had  been  declar- 
ed and  we  found  no  trouble.  We  had  purchased 
pretty  close  to  the  limit,  but  were  willing  to  pay  duty 
if  necessary,  and  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  by  putting 
all  your  purchases  where  they  can  be  seen  quickly, 
without  attempting  to  hide  anything,  you  get  better 
results   and   quicker   freedom. 

It  was  about  five  o'clock  when  we  changed  cars 
at  Juarez  for  El  Paso,  crossed  the  bridge  and  were 
again  in  the  United  States  and  once  more  found  an 
American  hotel  and  the  English  language. 

With  our  arrival  at  El  Paso,  the  trip  to  Mexico 
ends.  We  traveled  from  Juarez  in  Chihuahua  to 
Palenque  in  Chiapas,  or  from  the  most  northern  state 
to  the  most  southern  and  practically  through  the  cen- 
ter of  the  country.  We  have  seen  its  mountains  and 
its  valleys,  its  deserts  and  its  forest,  its  lakes  and 
rivers,  land  so  poor  that  it  refused  to  nourish  even  the 


BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO  155 

pulque  plaut  and  land  that  blooms  like  a  garden  of 
Eden.  We  have  seen  its  people  ignorant  and  poor  and 
its  people  refined  and  wealthy.  Its  customs  good,  bad 
and  indifferent.  We  have  been  through  a  country 
that  is  adapted  for  the  race  that  inhabit  it,  and  the 
foreigner  with  capital.  A  country  whose  past  is  a 
mystery,  its  present  a  revelation,  and  its  future  a 
wonderful  possibility. 

We  have  made  observations  of  their  industrial 
system,  and  the  so-called  peonage  that  we  had  heard 
so  much  of,  and  found  much  untruth  and  painful  ex- 
aggeration concerning  it.  We  have  read  and  heard 
of  the  brutal  treatment  of  the  contract  laborer  on  the 
plantation  and  from  our  personal  observations  we  are 
pleased  to  state  that  these  abuses  exist  largely  in  the 
imagination  of  some  romancers. 

A  laborer  on  a  plantation  will  hire  himself  for  a 
given  period  or  by  the  day.  If  for  a  stated  time  and 
compensation  he  is  bound  by  that  contract  only  when 
he  has  been  paid  a  certain  sum  in  advance.  This 
sum  he  will  spend  to  provide  for  his  family  or  hide  it 
away  before  he  begins  work  for  he  looks  upon  the  ad- 
vance money  as  a  kind  of  a  bargain  closing,  and  con- 
siders himself  so  many  days  labor  indebted  to  his 
employer,  and  cannot  quit  until  he  has  liquidated  his 
indebtedness.  Indeed  if  he  should  attempt  to  do  so 
he  can  be  arrested  and  brought  before  the  Jefe  Poli- 
tico, who  will  see  to  it  that  the  agreement  is  fulfilled. 

In  the  interior  when  a  planter  requires  more  help. 
I  have  known  of  them  sending  their  superintendent  or 
native  overseer  to  fiestas,  where  the  laborers  may  be 


156  BITS    OF    OLD    MEXICO 

celebrating,  engage  as  many  as  is  desired  or  as  many 
as  can  be  had,  and  should  it  happen  that  they  are 
employed  by  another  and  in  debt,  they  must  procure 
the  necessary  amount  from  the  new  employer  and  pay 
that  debt  before  they  can  leave  their  present  position. 

The  remuneration  for  labor  in  Mexico  is  small, 
but  the  wants  are  few  and  when  the  laborer  feels  the 
necessity  of  the  white  man's  wants,  both  labor  and  its 
products  will  command  a  better  price. 

The  government  of  the  country  has  been  criti- 
cised by  writers,  but  I  believe  that  the  present  condi- 
tion of  affairs  reflects  great  credit  on  its  law  makers. 

The  personal  safety  of  the  traveling  public  is  as 
great  as  that  of  any  other  country  that  I  know  of,  and 
property  rights  as  firmly  established  as  they  are  in  the 
United  States. 

This  satisfactory  condition  of  affairs  has  been 
brought  about  largely  and  maintained  by  that  great- 
est of  all  Mexicans,  President  Porfirio  Diaz  and  to  him 
and  his  country  we  are  indebted  for  a  delightful  two 
months'  outing,  the  niosquitos  notwithstanding. 


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